Prepared by: Biodiversity and Ecosystem Sciences, Queensland Herbarium, Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts.

© The State of Queensland (Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts) 2012. Copyright inquiries should be addressed to or the Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts, 111 George Street, Brisbane QLD 4000.

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ISBN: 978-1-920928-23-0

Citation

Batianoff, G.N.1 2, Neldner, V.J.1, Naylor, G.C. 1 3 and Olds, J.A.4 (2012). Mapping and evaluating Capricornia Cays vegetation and regional ecosystems. Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts, Queensland Government. 80 pp.

Front Cover: Design by Will Smith

Cover plates: Top row: Coral reef edge on North West Island; sunset over the reef flat; and Pisonia grandis low closed-forest and herbland boundary on Lady Musgrave Island.

Bottom row: White-capped noddys Anous minitus sunbaking: large Pisonia grandis tree: green turtle Chelonia mydas returning to sea on Lady Musgrave Island. All photos by VJ Neldner.

1 Queensland Herbarium, Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts, Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha, Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong QLD 4066 2 Deceased 3 Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, GPO Box 2454 Brisbane City QLD 4000 4 Ecological Assessment, Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing, PO Box 697 Gympie, QLD 4570. TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive summary ...... 6 PART A. BACKGROUND ...... 9 1 Introduction ...... 9 1.1 Background to the project ...... 9 1.2 Aims of the project ...... 9 1.3 History of past research ...... 9 2 Physical environment ...... 11 2.1 Regional setting ...... 11 2.2 Island descriptions ...... 12 2.3 Land use history ...... 18 2.4 Climate ...... 20 3 Methodology ...... 27 3.1 Fieldwork ...... 27 3.2 Flora ...... 27 3.3 Vegetation ...... 28 3.4 Soils ...... 29 PART B. Results and discussion ...... 30 4 Flora ...... 30 4.1 Regional checklist ...... 30 4.2 New records ...... 30 4.3 Patterns of species distribution ...... 32 4.4 Character of flora ...... 35 4.5 Species richness ...... 36 4.6 Species of doubtful status ...... 36 4.7 Comparison of island floras ...... 37 4.8 Temporal patterns & human impacts ...... 39 5 Vegetation ...... 40 5.1 Vegetation communities ...... 40 5.2 Vegetation condition ...... 42 6 Soils properties ...... 44 6.1 Overview ...... 44 6.2 Soil classification ...... 44 6.3 Chemical properties ...... 46 6.4 Pisonia dieback at Tryon Island ...... 49 6.5 Natural glades within Pisonia stands ...... 51 6.6 Soil condition overview ...... 53 PART C. Conservation management ...... 55 7 Current threats to vegetation ...... 55 7.1 Pulvinaria urbicola ...... 55 7.2 Climate variability ...... 55

3 7.3 Plant resilience and vegetation changes ...... 56 7.4 Exotic plant species ...... 56 Concluding overview ...... 59 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... 60 REFERENCES ...... 60 APPENDICES ...... 66

LIST OF TABLES Table 1-1. List of publications and reports for individual islands ...... 10 Table 2-1. Details of island features and known disturbance history for each Capricornia Cay ..... 19 Table 2-2. Climate averages for the Capricornia Cays, based on weather records from Lady Elliot and Heron Islands (source: BOM, 2008a)...... 21 Table 2-3. Ambient temperature changes for each decade at Lady Elliot Island ...... 22 Table 2-4. Seasonal proportion of rainfall at the Capricornia Cays, Willis Island and Lord Howe Island from 1940–2007 ...... 25 Table 2-5. Wind conditions at Heron Island, Lady Elliot Island, Willis Island and Lord Howe Island (Source: BOM, 2008) ...... 26 Table 3-1. Dates of surveys of the Capricornia Cays: 2007-08 ...... 27 Table 3-2. Aerial photographs (2007) and CORVEG sites used in this project...... 28 Table 4-1. Summary of major plant groups and life forms of the Capricornia Cays ...... 32 Table 4-2. Plant species with northern and southern geographic limits at the Capricornia Cays ... 33 Table 4-3. List of the ten most frequent/abundant species at Capricornia Cays ...... 34 Table 6-1. Comparison of soil properties at depth for different habitats...... 46 Table 6-2. Soil chemical properties on Tryon Island and Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve in areas with Pisonia grandis cover (Pis) and those that have lost their Pisonia cover (Ex)...... 50 Table 6-3. Comparison of soil chemical properties at depth for all Pisonia communities (Pis) and glades in Pisonia communities (G) ...... 52 Table 7-1. Comments on the major naturalised species in the Capricornia Cays ...... 57

4 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2-1. Locality map of the Capricorn and Bunker island groups within the Capricornia Cays in the southern Great Barrier Reef...... 12 Figure 2-2. Comparison of average monthly rainfall of Lady Elliot, Heron Island and North Reef Islands in the Capricornia Cays, and coastal mainland locations of Pacific Heights, Gladstone and Bustard Head, compared with the mean monthly rainfall for the Capricornia Cays of 90.4mm per month...... 23 Figure 2-3. Comparison of rainfall seasonality at the Capricornia Cays, Willis Island and Lord Howe Island ...... 23 Figure 2-4. Long-term annual rainfall variability on the Capricornia Cays of North Reef, Heron and Lady Elliot Islands (top), Willis Island in the Coral Sea, and Lord Howe Island...... 24 Figure 4-1. Proportion of species making up each abundance category for native (n=44) and exotic (n=87) floras...... 34 Figure 4-2. Species richness curve for native (n=44, R2 = 0.39) and exotic species (n=87, R2=0.19) at the Capricornia Cays...... 35 Figure 4-3. Fusion dendrogram of the floristic association of native species on the Capricornia Cays based on Belbin’s (2004) PATN analysis using plant presence/absence data...... 37 Figure 4-4. Fusion dendrogram of the floristic association of all species on the Capricorn-Bunker Islands based on Belbin’s (2004) PATN analysis using plant presence/absence data...... 38 Figure 4-5. Relationship between estimated disturbance levels at each island and the percentage of exotic species in its floristic composition...... 38 Figure 5-1. Recorded levels of Pulvinaria urbicola scale on Pisonia grandis leaves at Tryon Island (Sourced from Kay et al., 2003)...... 42 Figure 5-2. Diameter classes (20cm) of old-growth Pisonia grandis at North West Island: 2007 (n=195) ...... 43 Figure 5-3. Diameter classes at 30 cm height of Casuarina equisetifolia at North West Island and Wreck Island...... 44 Figure 6-1. Average pH of surface soils (0–20 cm) of different communities and habitats...... 47 Figure 6-2. Mean organic carbon values (% by weight) of surface soils (0–20 cm) of different communities ...... 47 Figure 6-3. Mean total nitrogen values (% by weight) of surface soils (0–20 cm) of different communities ...... 48 Figure 6-4. Mean phosphorous (Colwell-P) values (mg/kg) of surface soils (0–20 cm) of different communities ...... 48 Figure 6-5. Mean potassium values (cmol (+)/kg) of surface soils (0–20 cm) of different communities ...... 49 Figure 6-6. Soil chemical properties in areas of old-growth Pisonia (solid bars) and herblands previously forested by Pisonia (hatched) on Tryon Island and Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve (CHNNR)...... 51 Figure 6-7. Comparison of soil chemical properties in old-growth Pisonia (solid bars) and ex- Pisonia herblands (hatched bars) on Tryon Island & Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve (CHNNR)...... 53

5 Executive summary

Flora 1. One hundred and thirty-one species were recorded as occurring naturally on the Capricornia Cays during the 2007/08 surveys of terrestrial flora. This includes 44 native coral cay species and 87 naturalised non indigenous species. The naturalised flora comprises 77 exotic and 10 naturalised mainland species. 2. Two new records of native plant species were recorded: • Hernandia nymphaeifolia (Jack-in-a-box tree), a seashore tropical tree recorded at North West Island, is a new record for the Port Curtis pastoral district and marks the southern limit of its occurrence in Australia. • An undescribed Boerhavia species (Boerhavia sp. Bargara L.Pedley 5382) was recorded at Lady Elliot Island. It is a new record for Capricornia Cays. 3. The 14 new naturalisations for the study area include: Bermuda grass (Cynodon nlemfuensis var. nlemfuensis) and creeping Cinderella weed (Calyptocarpus vialis) at Heron Island; creeping amaranth (Amaranthus blitum) at One Tree Island; sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) at North West Island; sisal hemp (Agave sisalana), Gomphrena weed (Gomphrena celosioides), wandering Jew (Tradescantia pallida), oysterplant (T. spathacea), green fathen (Chenopodium murale), four o’clock plant (Mirabilis jalapa), snake weed (Stachytarpheta cayennensis) and moonlight cactus (Hylocereus undatus) at Lady Elliot Island. Two mainland native species were observed to be naturalising at Lady Elliot Island: dentella (Dentella repens) and pennywort (Hydrocotyle acutiloba). 4. Several native coral cay species have a reduced distribution since earlier regional flora reports. Spinifex sericeus was not recorded on eight islands where it had been recorded previously: North Reef, Tryon, Heron and One Tree Islands, the Hoskyn Islands, Lady Musgrave and Lady Elliot Islands. 5. Significant infestations of already established naturalised species were recorded during the 2007/08 surveys for several species: American sea rocket (*Cakile edentula – 13 islands), Mossman River grass (*Cenchrus echinatus – 9 islands), crowsfoot grass (*Eleusine indica – 7 islands), corky passionfruit (*Passiflora suberosa – North West and Lady Elliot islands), common milk thistle (*Sonchus oleracea – 10 islands), cobbler’s pegs (*Bidens pilosa – 9 islands) and Jersey cudweed (+Pseudognaphalium luteoalbum – 8 islands). (* denotes exotic species to Australia, while + denotes a native mainland species that is not indigenous to the coral cays). 6. Weed control on Lady Elliot Island needs special consideration as it is a major undertaking. Forty-seven species (36.1%) of weeds found on Lady Elliot Island were not present on any other Capricornia Cays. Without Lady Elliot Island, exotic species for the region would be reduced to 39 species, i.e. 30% of the total flora. 7. Analyses of plant species richness and floral composition indicated that the southern and northern coral cays of the Great Barrier Reef are significantly different. Vegetation communities 1. Capricornia Cays Pisonia grandis closed-forests reached heights of more than 20m and are some of the most well developed forest of its kind in Australia. 2. Ximenia americana closed-scrub at Tryon Island represents the only known occurrence of this vegetation type on coral cays in Queensland.

6 3. The vegetation condition of most native communities was good indicating healthy growth and active regeneration. However, recent history has shown that P. grandis is highly vulnerable to scale insect damage. 4. Seashore herbland species compositions are changeable due to periodic erosion and establishment of invasive species such as the Cakile edentula. Common seashore species recorded some ten or twenty years ago such as Spinifex sericeus and Ipomoea pes-caprae are no longer common. 5. Recruitment of Casuarina seedlings along the island shores was relatively uncommon. Soils 1. Soils of the Capricornia Cays were distinct for different land forms: seashore sands, beach ridge soils, interior soils and glades. Soil development patterns were similar to Coringa- Herald Cays. However, nutrient levels on Capricornia Cays were well below levels recorded for Coringa-Herald Cays for similar landforms (Batianoff et. al., 2008a). 2. The most nutrient-rich soils were from Pisonia grandis forested areas. Formation of peat occurred on Masthead and North West Islands. In these areas, a compact layer of rich humus up to 12cm deep formed on the surfaces. 3. Where there is death in Pisonia forests, there was a release of nutrients into the soils, followed by rapid leaching, evidenced by the lower nutrient concentrations from glade areas as compared to intact forest stands. 4. The Ficus and Celtis rainforest patches on Tryon Island had high levels of soil nutrients. Climate trends 1. The maritime climate of the Capricornia Cays is moderate. Temperatures do not get as low or as high as on the adjacent mainland. The rainfall is more evenly distributed throughout the year than in the tropics. 2. A historical increase in ambient temperature of around +1.0ºC since 1958 was recorded for summer maximum temperatures (R2=0.79) and annual maximum temperatures (R2=0.97). There was a weaker increase in summer minimums and no significant change in winter temperatures. 3. There was a strong trend detected for longer droughts (less mean rainfall) from 3–4 years in the 1940–1991 period to 3–7 years in the period 1992–2007. Seabirds 1. A variety of tropical seabirds visit and/or breed on the Capricornia Cays, e.g. lesser frigatebirds, Fregata ariel and red-tailed tropicbird, Phaethon rubricanda. 2. Birds, both seabirds and forest birds, e.g. doves, are important for the dispersal of many plants including rainforest species and weeds with fleshy fruits. Management recommendations 1. The use of indigenous species for landscaping / gardens around resorts, camping grounds and other inhabited areas is recommended (see Appendix D). 2. The early detection and responsive control of new incursions of weeds and exotic invertebrates such as scale insects and ants should be a high priority. 3. Weed control on all islands should remain a high priority, with the most severe infestations occurring on the islands with the highest human visitation. 4. Disseminate quarantine information to all visitors to the Capricornia Cays.

7 5. Continue to monitor the vegetation and flora to quantify changes due to management activities, visitor use patterns and climate variability. 6. Provide wildlife identification guides to visitors and island staff to improve appreciation of native wildlife.

8 PART A. BACKGROUND

1 Introduction

1.1 Background to the project

Large populations of seabirds and marine turtles, high plant diversity and the large areas of Pisonia community make the Capricornia Cays a globally significant and critically important area for conservation. The current management plans for the Capricornia Cays National Park and Capricornia Cays National Park (Scientific) state that conservation and recreational uses both require efforts to maintain natural and economic values (QPWS, 2000). In order to do this job effectively Queensland Parks and Wildlife (QPWS) engaged the Queensland Herbarium to update regional floristic, vegetation and regional ecosystems information for the Capricornia Cays.

Surveys of vegetation communities and regional ecosystems of the Capricornia Cays commenced in August 2007. Surveys were completed at North Reef Island, Tryon Island, North West Island, Wilson Island, Wreck Island, Heron Island, Erskine Island, and Masthead Island in 2007 over three separate field surveys. Lady Elliot Island was surveyed in March 2008. One Tree Island, the Hoskyn Islands, the Fairfax Islands and Lady Musgrave Island were surveyed throughout September 2008.

Though not part of the Capricornia Cays National Park or Capricornia Cays National Park (Scientific), North Reef Island and Lady Elliot Island have been included in this study. The inclusion of these islands contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the island ecosystems in the region. Collectively, this report refers to all of the vegetated islands listed above that form the Capricorn-Bunker Islands as the Capricornia Cays.

1.2 Aims of the project

1. The project had the following outputs and outcomes: 2. Detailed baseline maps of island vegetation (1:3000 to 1:6000) 3. Detailed descriptions and maps of vegetation communities and Regional Ecosystems (REs) 4. Improved capacity to detect environmental stressors of plant communities including invasive weeds and pest insects. 5. Increased knowledge and understanding of the coral cay flora, plant communities and forest ecosystems including soil nutrition requirements. 6. Improved effectiveness of management to protect the values of coral cays in central Queensland, in particular Pisonia grandis dominated communities.

1.3 History of past research

The Capricornia Cays have been the subject of numerous surveys (Table1.1). The flora of several islands have been reported individually, e.g., the terrestrial vegetation survey of Tryon Island (Cribb, 1979), Masthead Island (Batianoff, 1999), Wilson Island (Batianoff and Hacker, 2000). Many islands were visited as part of regional flora surveys, e.g., MacGillivray & Rodway (1931); Heatwole (1984a) and Chaloupka & Domm (1985). Vegetation reporting has been confined to

9 general descriptions (e.g., Domm, 1971; Flood, 1977; Heatwole, 1984b). Aspects of geomorphology were studied by Flood (1977; 1984). Comprehensive bird reports are available, some that include brief descriptions of the vegetation (Hulsman, 1984; Walker & Domm, 1986). The ecological factors affecting the number of species have been reviewed by Heatwole (1976). Factors affecting weed incursions at Capricornia Cays have been discussed by Chaloupka & Domm (1986), Batianoff (1998 & 1999a) and Heatwole & Walker (1989). Table 1-1. List of publications and reports for individual islands

Coral cay Historical research North Reef Walker & Domm (1986): Walker & Ogilvie (1988). Tryon Cribb (1979) North West Cribb (1969); Cribb (2005); Jahnke (2005) Wilson Cribb (1965); Batianoff & Hacker (2000) Wreck Nil known Heron Fosberg & Thorne (1961); Gillham (1963); Cribb (1976); Rogers (1989) Rogers & Morrison (1994); Erskine Nil known One Tree Heatwole et al. (1981) Masthead Longman (1914); Edgell (1929); Cribb (1975); Batianoff (1999a) Hoskyn Islands Cribb (1972) Fairfax Islands Cribb (1986) Lady Musgrave Elsol (1985); Walker (1991b) Lady Elliot Batianoff (1998); Walsh (1987)

10 2 Physical environment

2.1 Regional setting

Straddling the Tropic of Capricorn, the Capricorn-Bunker region of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) Marine Park is located on the western side of the marginal shelf at the southern end of the GBR (QPWS, 2000). Forming a geomorphic province distinct from the rest of the GBR (Hopley, 1982; QPWS, 2000), the Capricornia Cays archipelago features one of the highest concentrations of coral cays on the GBR (Hopley, 1982; King, 1993; QPWS, 2000). The Capricornia Cays lie between 45 and 75 km off the central Queensland coast (Figure 2-1. Locality map of the Capricorn and Bunker island groups within the Capricornia Cays in the southern Great Barrier Reef. The 15 vegetated cays of the Capricornia Cays range in size from about 4 ha to 107.3 ha with elevation ranging from 3 metres to 9 metres. Island substrates are either sand, shingle or a mixture of the two (Flood, 1977), though the classification of island substrate is sometimes disputed (Mather & Bennett, 1984). The cays are around 5000 years old, having developed during the Holocene period (QPWS, 2000). All of cays excepting the shingle cays are located on leeward margin of reef tops ranging from 1 km2 to 28 km2 (Mather & Bennett, 1984).

The Capricornia Cays National Park and the Capricornia Cays National Park (Scientific) form part of the Mackay/Capricorn Management Unit in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA). The zoning of the islands ranges from the Habitat Protection Zone (‘blue’) to the Scientific Research zone (‘orange’).

The Capricornia Cays are separated from the mainland by the Curtis Channel (QPWS, 2000), and have distinct currents operating in the region. The South Equatorial Current (SEC) reaches the GBR at about 14ºS of the equator, where it splits in to the Hiri current running northwards along the continental shelf, and the East Australian Current (EAC) running southwards (Wachenfeld et al., 2007). The SEC and EAC operate to give the Capricornia Cays flora more of an affinity with the islands of the Coral Sea than of the mainland of Australia (Batianoff & McDonald, 1980; QPWS, 2000). According to the bioregionalisation of the GBR, the Capricornia Cays area is oceanographically isolated and may be biologically distinct from the rest of GBR. Domm (1971) also recognised this as a distinct province within the GBR.

The Far North area of the GBR also features a large number of coral cays (King, 1993); however, very few coral cays are located in the central sections of the GBR. This separation of the northern and southern coral cays highlights the importance of studying the Capricornia Cays as a distinct unit of islands within the GBR, particularly as they are the southernmost cays in the GBR and Australia. Recently this has been recognised as a separate subregion Southern Great Barrier Reef Subregion (12.11) within the Southeast Queensland bioregion.

11

Figure 2-1. Locality map of the Capricorn and Bunker island groups within the Capricornia Cays in the southern Great Barrier Reef.

2.2 Island descriptions

2.2.1 North Reef Island

North Reef Island (23º11’S, 151º54’E) is the northernmost Capricornia Cay. This Commonwealth Island is not formally part of the Capricornia Cays National Park or National Park (Scientific); however, it is managed on a day-to-day basis by QPWS. The island is oblong in shape, measuring approximately 300 m across the E-W axis, and 100 m across the N-S axis. Currently, a sand spit extends from the western point of the island. Heatwole (1984a) recorded the island’s area at about 4.5 ha with a vegetated area of 0.5 ha. Currently, the island’s area is estimated at around 3.45 ha, with a vegetated area of 1.7 ha. As noted by Flood (1977), this cay is highly dynamic. The maximum elevation is about 2-3 m above MSL.

A lighthouse with a basal diameter of around 12 m was built in 1878. The lighthouse was attended by live-in light-keepers until 1978, and currently operates automatically. Disturbance to native vegetation was evident from the presence of weeds and the planted coconut trees around the base of the lighthouse. Much of the originally cleared areas have since been reclaimed by native shrubs and small trees of Scaevola taccada (0.27 ha) and/or Argusia argentea (0.41 ha). The current vascular flora consists of 16 species, including 12 indigenous and 4 exotic species. Two or three Pisonia grandis trees were found growing in the middle of the cay.

2.2.2 Tryon Island

Tryon Island (23º14’S, 151º49’E) is an elongated sand island that is about 725 m long and 50 m wide. Its long axis is orientated roughly NE to SW. It features an elevated sand ridge (about 10 m high) that runs about halfway along the south-western side of the island. The south-western end of the sandy beach is buffered by an extensive beach rock platform. Smaller pockets of beach rock

12 areas were found at the north-eastern end of the island. A sand spit extends for about 50 m from the north-western end of the island. The area of the island has been previously estimated at 14 ha (QPWS, 2000) with a vegetated area of 7 ha (Heatwole, 1984a). The current area is estimated as 15.26 ha with a vegetated area of 10.04 ha. It is probable that the island was mined for guano in the late 1890s but the effects of mining were not obvious.

The island features areas of Pisonia grandis open to closed-forest (currently 1.4 ha, formerly estimated to cover 4.2 ha) which have undergone deforestation due to scale insect infestations (Kay et al., 2003). Since the loss of Pisonia, the central area of the western end has been colonised by herbaceous weedy species (2.87 ha), as well as planted Pisonia cuttings. Public use of the island is currently restricted. It was used for camping up until 1990. For its size Tryon island supports a high diversity of flora. The rainforest species present include Ficus spp., Celtis paniculata and Pipturus argenteus. It is the only island in region with Ximenia americana. The current vascular flora consists of 38 species, including 26 indigenous species, 11 exotic species and one mainland native.

2.2.3 North West Island

North West Island (23°18’S, 151°42’E) is the largest Capricornia Cay. The island is oblong-shaped, about 1850 m long and 850 m wide. It is oriented roughly E to W. The island’s area is 119.8 ha, although it has been reported as 150 ha by Jell & Flood (1978) and 153 ha by the GBRC (1977). The vegetated area was reported as 90 ha by Flood (1984), but is currently estimated as 107.3 ha. The island is composed of sand (Domm, 1971), with small areas of exposed beach rock extending from the eastern end. A permanent camping ground which has capacity for 150 campers has been established at the north-western side, with interpretative displays, shelter and storage sheds and three toilet blocks. A walking track runs S-SE from the camping ground to the southern side of the island.

Evidence of former human activities includes two piles of broken phosphate rocks, remains of guano / phosphate rock mining from 1891-1900, towards the centre of the island along the main walking track (Table 2-1). Heatwole (1984a) suggests that North West Island is the most disturbed of the uninhabited Capricornia Cays. However, the areas visibly affected by the phosphate rock mining are relatively small (Heatwole, 1984a). Other historic disturbances include the turtle soup- canning factory that operated in the early 1900s, and the introduction of goats, feral fowls, domestic cats, rats, mice, and some plants and insects (Heatwole, 1984a). According to J. Olds (pers. obser., 2007), some Celtis paniculata seeds were dispersed by the feral fowl. The current vascular flora consists of 47 species, including 33 native species, 13 exotic species and one mainland native. The interior of the island was dominated by Pisonia grandis open to old-growth closed-forests (89% of vegetated area, 96.2 ha).

2.2.4 Wilson Island

Wilson Island (23°18’S, 151°55’E) is one of the few mixed sand/shingle Capricornia Cays (Heatwole, 1984a). The island is roughly circular about 340 m wide and 250 m long with an extensive sandy beach extending from the western shore. Large coral rubble fragments litter the sandy beaches. The eastern shore is buffered by a continuous, solid beach rock wall of loose beach rock rubble. The island’s area was estimated at 12 ha (Jell & Flood, 1978), and 7 ha by the GBRC (1977) and QPWS (2000). The current estimate is 7.78 ha. The vegetated area was about 3.5 ha in 1980 (Flood, 1984) and is currently 4.01 ha. According to Flood (1984), Tropical Cyclone ‘Simon’ added a considerable volume of sediment to the north-western beach. He also mentions that the beaches on Wilson Island are exceptionally mobile and tend to migrate back and forth over

13 several metres. Maximum elevation is about 3-4 m. The island lies west of its reef centre (Heatwole, 1984a).

Wilson Island features about six small huts that are operated by the current resort leaseholders of Heron Island. Other related infrastructure includes bathrooms, a kitchen/dining area, pathways and a septic system. The interior of the island features Pisonia grandis stands (1.2 ha) that were recently (2006/07) affected by pest scale insect (Pulvinaria urbicola) outbreaks. A biological control program using the predatory ladybeetle Cryptolaemus montrouzieri was effective in controlling the scale insect and retaining tree cover (Olds, pers. comm., 2006). The current vascular flora consists of 27 species, including 18 indigenous species and nine exotic species.

2.2.5 Wreck Island

Wreck Island (23º 19’S, 151º 59’E) is an elongated, oval-shaped sand island. However, Heatwole (1984a) recorded some shingle components. Its long axis is about 750 m long, oriented approximately SW-NE. The widest part of the island is towards the SW end, measuring about 150 m. A sand spit extends about 150 m from the edge of the vegetation on the NE tail. A field of pumice is visible, during low tide, to the north of this sand spit. The total island size has been estimated at between 7 and 14 ha with a vegetated area of 4 ha (Heatwole, 1984a). The current estimate is 10.08 ha with a vegetated area of 5.67 ha. A steeply sloping (30º) vegetated ridge (about 5 m) runs along the south-eastern shore forming a ‘backbone’ to the island. A discontinuous line of beach rock extends along the south-eastern shore.

Evidence of historic land uses include remnants of a shack within the central Pisonia grandis closed-forest (0.94 ha) that was used by researchers conducting turtle monitoring. Other known uses include oil exploration (QPWS, 2000). The current tenure of Wreck Island limits visitation to QPWS staff and other permitted visitors. The current vascular flora consists of 23 species, including 19 indigenous species, three exotic species and one mainland native.

2.2.6 Heron Island

Heron Island (23°26’S, 151°57’E) is a sand island measuring about 750 m long and 125 m wide. Oblong in shape, the long axis is oriented approximately E to W. The island’s area has been estimated at between 12 and 29 ha (Heatwole, 1984a) and 17 ha (QPWS, 2000); the current estimate is 22.07 ha with a vegetated area of 9.89 ha which is reduced from the 13 ha in 1980 (Flood, 1984). The perimeter of the island features continuous beach rock platforms along the south-eastern and north-western shores, with sandy beaches surrounding the north-eastern and south-western ends. The maximum height is about 3-4 m.

About 32% of the western side of the island is covered by the Heron Island Resort, the University of Queensland Research Station, and Queensland Parks and Wildlife infrastructure. Within the developed areas are numerous lodgings for tourists and staff, as well as other resort-related infrastructure such as dining areas, shops, a tennis court, swimming pool, rubbish dump, a water desalination plant, interpretative displays, garden areas and walking paths. Housing and buildings for QPWS rangers living on the island are located towards the middle of the island. A harbour and a helipad have been constructed at the western end. A retaining wall has been constructed around the north-western side. Evidence of a former turtle canning station is located towards the central northern shore. Pisonia grandis stands cover 6.23 ha, 63% of the vegetated part of the island, with some large remnant individuals within the resort grounds. The current vascular flora consists of 55 species, including 24 indigenous species, 31 exotic species and one mainland native.

14 2.2.7 Erskine Island

Erskine Island (23º 30’S, 151º 08’E) is an oval-shaped sand island measuring approximately 260 m long by 100 m wide. The long axis is oriented approximately SW-NE. The island’s area has been estimated at between 2 and 6.5 ha with a vegetated area of 1.5 ha (Heatwole, 1984a; QPWS, 2000). The current estimated area is 5.02 ha with 1.8 ha being vegetated. The island features wide and relatively steep beaches that surround the entire island (Heatwole, 1984a). Isolated pockets of beach rock that are visible at low tide are scattered along the northern and eastern sides. The central area is relatively flat and has a maximum elevation of around 5 m.

Erskine Island is relatively free of human disturbance. Of the vegetated area, only 10% was dominated by Pisonia grandis; however, other woody species include Celtis paniculata, Ficus opposita and Argusia argentea (33% of area). The current vascular flora consists of 21 indigenous species and one exotic species.

2.2.8 Masthead Island

Masthead Island (23º 32’E, 151º 43’S) is the second largest island in the Capricornia Cays (49 ha). Heatwole (1984a) estimated its vegetated area at 32 ha, compared to the current estimate of 35.5 ha (44.25ha total area). It is the closest island to the mainland. The island is composed mainly of sand with a maximum elevation of 3-4 m. The island is roughly oblong-shaped measuring about 1400 m by 400 m with the long axis aligned approximately E–W. The cay is situated on the western end of a long narrow reef (7 km2) that does not feature a lagoon area. A continuous platform of beach rock borders the shoreline for approximately half the exposed southern side of the island. Beach rock on the north-western end is less extensive and is presently covered by sand. A beach ridge rising 1-2 m runs along the southern shoreline and is highest in elevation approximately halfway along the shore. Despite the buffering by the beach rock platform, the southern shore currently has been undergoing erosion, evident by the loss of trees from the shoreline ridge vegetation.

Masthead Island has been used for camping for many decades. The current capacity is capped at 50 persons. There are no toilet facilities provided. Opuntia stricta was reported as well established by Mather & Bennett (1984). The current population of Opuntia is reduced to few small pockets. Heatwole (1984a) mentions the camping and cutting of Casuarina timber by Japanese sailors before the Second World War. There appears to be no significant deposits of phosphate rock or guano and no evidence of mining has been detected. One of the early explorers, Steers (1938) described this island as the most attractive in the area because of the thick and luxuriant covering of Pisonia grandis forest (27.98 ha; 78.8% of the vegetated area). Heatwole (1984a) lists this island as one of the nine most important areas for seabirds within the Great Barrier Reef. Batianoff (1999a) considers that Masthead Island has retained most of its natural values and has had less human impact than other nearby Pisonia covered islands (i.e., North West Island, Heron Island). The current vascular flora consists of 42 species, including 36 indigenous and five exotic species and one mainland species.

2.2.9 One Tree Island

One Tree Island (23°31’S, 152°08’E) is a shingle cay (Mather & Bennett, 1984), about 5.55 ha in area with 3.81 ha being vegetated and is shaped like a thick boomerang. In contrast to other cays in the region, the cay is on the weather side (southeast) of the reef, comprised largely of ridges of coral shingle and has a brackish pond near the centre (Mather & Bennett, 1984). There are several small, unstable, shifting rubble banks on outer edge of One Tree Reef. Mather & Bennett (1984)

15 recorded an eroding cement pavement of reef-front corals windward of the cay which merges into beach rock along the western shore. A research station for the University of Sydney was built in 1971 and is located towards the north-western corner. The station accommodates up to 10 visiting scientists with permanent care takers. The island has restricted access as it is part of the Capricornia Cays National Park (Scientific).

According to Heatwole (1984a) Rhizophora stylosa was growing in the brackish pond. No mangroves were found in this survey. The current vascular flora consists of 28 species, including 20 indigenous and eight exotic species.

2.2.10 Hoskyn Islands

The two Hoskyn Islands (23° 48’S, 152°18’E) belong to the Capricornia Cays National Park (Scientific). Little information on land use history has been found in the published literature. Heatwole (1984a) and Flood (1977) classify Hoskyn (West) Island as a sand island with some coarse coral shingle conglomerates on the eastern shore and beach rock on the western shore. It is elongated in shape, with the long axis slightly west of N-S. The island is 9.48 ha in area with 6.41 ha vegetated, The island measures approximately 650 m in length and 200 m in width. It lies on the south-eastern edge of a 3 km2 closed-ring reef (Flood, 1977). The current vascular flora of the western island consists of 24 species, including 20 indigenous and four exotic species.

The East island is the smaller of the two Hoskyn Islands, lying north-east of the centre of the reef. Hoskyn (East) is 2.35 ha (1.58 ha vegetated) in area and measures about 280 m in length and 100 m in width. This oblong island is composed of coarse coral fragments arranged in ridges, with its long axis oriented northeast-southeast. Flood (1977) considers it to be a shingle island. It has a deep soil containing guano (Heatwole, 1984a). The current vascular flora consists of 20 species, including 15 indigenous and five exotic species.

2.2.11 Fairfax Islands

The Fairfax Islands (23° 51’S, 152°22’E) are situated on a 4 km2 reef. They form part of the Capricornia Cays National Park (Scientific). The western island has been reported as having a sand and shingle substrate (Heatwole, 1984a) though Flood (1977) considered it a sand island. An elongated sand spit is located at the western end of the island. The island is approximately 500 m long and 220 m wide.

The area of the western island is 7.33 ha (4.26 ha vegetated) in area. The current vascular flora of the western island consists of 26 species, including 19 indigenous, six exotic species and one mainland native. The eastern Fairfax island is a shingle cay (Flood, 1977), measuring approximately 1110 m in length and 245 m at its widest point (eastern), the island is 21.21 ha (15.78 ha vegetated) in size, and tadpole-shaped. There is an extensive perimeter of beach rock around the island, especially at the western end. Two brackish pools, one much larger than the other, are located toward the eastern end of the island. The current vascular flora consists of 18 species, including 12 indigenous and six exotic species.

The Fairfax islands were mined for phosphate in the 1890s and later used as a bombing range by the Australian Navy (Heatwole, 1984a; QPWS, 2000). Goats were introduced to the islands and by 1936 had left no undergrowth at all. Goats were eradicated in the late 1980s (QPWS, 2000). Currently, the islands receive infrequent visitation by human visitors due to its restricted access zoning.

16 2.2.12 Lady Musgrave Island

Lady Musgrave Island (23° 54’S, 152°25’E) (LMI) is the second-most southern Capricornia Cay. Elsol (1985) estimated the island size as 14 ha; with a length of around 600 m. Walker (1991b) estimated the island size as 13 ha. The current estimate is 19.47 ha with 15.10 ha vegetated. Heatwole (1984a) describes the shape of LMI as irregular, and nearly-rectangular with its long axis oriented north-east to south-west. Descriptions of geology provided by Heatwole (1984a) and Elsol (1985) indicate that the island is composed predominantly of coarse coral fragments and some sand underlain by a bed of coral conglomerate (i.e., beach rock) which is visible at the eastern and northern shores. Flood (1977) considers this to be a ‘shingle’ island. Heatwole (1984a) describes a small brackish pond occurring towards the southern end of the cay. LMI is situated on the south- western edge of its surrounding 10 km2 reef (Heatwole, 1984a).

Previous flora lists of the island have been provided by MacGillivray and Rodway (1931) from their 1927 collection (11 spp.), Heatwole (1984b), Elsol (1985) and Walker (1991b) from 1989. Specimens have also been collected by G. Batianoff (2000) and 52 species are represented in the Queensland Herbarium (32 collected by GNB). There are approximately four species per hectare. Elsol (1985) recognised 42 species. Walker (1991b) provides a comparative list of species, including cultivated species that were collected from each trip. There are 57 species on the list, but Scaevola taccada and Wollastonia biflora (currently frequent on LMI) are absent from the list (Walker, 1991).

In the 1890s, substantial areas of vegetation and soil were cleared for guano/phosphate-rock mining. In addition, the influence of goats that were introduced to the island by miners in 1898 also contributed to vegetation removal. Walker (1991b) reports the vegetation as being “stripped bare”. Daly and Griggs (2006) describe ridges that resulted from the removal of guano, based on observations made during the geographical survey by Steers in 1936. This altered landscape was more visible following the removal of vegetation by goats (Daly & Grigg, 2006). By 1927, there were 23 goats per hectare (Walker, 1991b). By 1936 their numbers had been reduced and the vegetation was recovering. The last of the goats were removed in 1974 (Flood, pers. comm., cited in Heatwole (1984a).

A resort was in operation during the 1930s. All that remains is a concrete slab (QPWS, 2000). Between 1984 and 1989, tourist numbers rose eight-fold, and LMI is now considered to be the sixth most heavily visited island on the GBR (Walker, 1991). Its proximity to the mainland (~60 km) means its visitation is higher than other islands in the Capricornia Cays NP, and it is the most intensively used for camping. The camping capacity is capped at 40 persons. In 1997, more than 10,000 day-visitors were brought by commercial tourist vessels. In addition, 1278 campers spent 8008 camping nights and around 5840 visitors from recreational boats used LMI (QPWS, 2000). Campground toilets are also present.

LMI is considered one of 14 most important breeding sites for birds on the GBR (Heatwole, 1984a). More than 20,000 seabirds (WTSW, BN) nest on the cay during summer with partial displacement by tourists of less abundant ground-nesting terns (Walker, 1991). Pisonia forests (11.13 ha) cover 73.7% of the vegetated part of the island. The current vascular flora consists of 39 species, including 20 indigenous, 18 exotic species and one mainland native.

2.2.13 Lady Elliot Island

Lady Elliot Island (24º06’S, 152º43’E) is the most southern of the GBR islands. Situated about 80 km NE of Bundaberg, (LEI) lies about 10 km west of the edge of the continental shelf, and is

17 surrounded by waters up to 40 m deep (Walsh 1987). The Island is 42.40 ha (32.86 ha vegetated) in area, roughly rectangular in shape, the long-axis is oriented NE – SW. The island is composed of near-concentric shingle ridges composed of coral, Tridacna shells and bioclastic sand bound by guano-derived phosphatic cement (Chivas et al., 1986). The beach rock is most prevalent on the windward SE side.

The vegetation has been extensively modified by guano-mining. The operation resulted in the removal of virtually all of topsoil (1–2 m) (Heatwole 1984a, Hopley 1982, Daly & Griggs 2006). Currently, the island is highly modified with a resort, lighthouse, air strip, staff quarters and many garden and lawn areas. The current vascular flora consists of 97 species, including 21 indigenous, 66 exotic species and ten mainland natives.

2.3 Land use history

The Capricornia Cays and their surrounding reefs are some of the most heavily utilised areas in the Great Barrier Reef (QPWS, 2000). There is limited knowledge about the use of the coral islands by Aboriginal people prior to European settlement. Historic human use of the islands since the late 1800s included navigational lighthouses, guano and phosphate rock mining, turtle canneries, and military training (QPWS, 2000; Daly & Griggs, 2006). Currently, the islands are used for a range of commercial and recreational activities including resorts, camping, fishing, educational research stations, recreational boating, scuba-diving, and snorkelling The extent of habitat modification that is evident on the islands today varies from the heavily modified Lady Elliot and Heron Islands, to the relatively undisturbed Erskine Island.

The most extensive degradation resulting from guano mining occurred at Lady Elliot Island, where several metres of topsoil and most of the vegetation were removed for the mining of high-grade guano (Daly & Griggs, 2006). North West Island was also extensively mined and has been reported as the most extensively disturbed of the uninhabited Capricornia Cays (Heatwole, 1984a). Steers (1938) reported ridges on Lady Musgrave Island that resulted from the removal of guano, and noticeable erosion of North West Island also linked to the removal of guano (Daly & Griggs, 2006). Animals such as domesticated fowls and goats were introduced during guano mining operations (Daly & Griggs, 2006).

18 Table 2-1. Details of island features and known disturbance history for each Capricornia Cay

Veg Reef 2 Coral cay (ha) (km ) Substrate Historic Land use Current land use DL North Reef 1.7 2.5 Sand Lighthouse/weather station; Low visitation, 30% 3.45 ha permanently manned until maintenance of 1978, with planted gardens automated BOM and storage sheds. Feral weather station and cats. lighthouse. Tryon 10.04 2.0 Sand Moderately high level of No camping; 40% 15.26 ha camping use until 1990. rehabilitation following Probably also mined for loss of Pisonia forest guano from 1898-1900. during late 1990s. Volunteer weeding programs, revegetation trials of Pisonia grandis plantings. North 107.26 38.0 Sand Guano / rock phosphate High levels of seasonal 50% West mining from 1891-1900, camping; 3 toilet blocks, 119.8 ha turtle-soup canning factory interpretative displays, around 1910 and 1924. Feral storage facilities. fowl, domestic cats, rats, mice and some introduced plants and insects. Wilson 4.01 1.0 Sand/ Moderate level of visitation Camping resort with a 50% 7.78 ha shingle and camping. number of buildings. Wreck 5.67 4.0 Sand Low visitation, oil exploration Current – low visitation. 25% 10.08 ha one private residence in late 1960’s, rats. Heron 9.89 27.0 Sand High visitation, > 15% of land High visitation, > 10% of 60% 22.07 ha supports buildings for land supports buildings research stations and resort. for research stations and resort. Erskine 1.80 1.3 Sand Past – low visitation. Current –low visitation. 20% 5.02 ha Masthead 35.5 7.0 Sand Moderately high camping. Seasonal camping with 30% 44.25 ha no permanent buildings. One Tree 3.81 14.0 Shingle Australian Museum leased Sydney University 30% 5.55 ha reef in 1969, began building research station. research station in 1971. West 6.41 3.0 Shingle Past – low visitation; possibly Current – low visitation. 20% Hoskyn used for guano-mining. 9.48 ha East 1.58 3.0 Sand Past – low visitation; possibly Current – low visitation. 20% Hoskyn used for guano-mining. 2.35 ha Fairfax 4.26 4.0 Sand, Past – guano / rock Current – low visitation. 30% (West) shingle phosphate mining, bombing- 7.33 ha range, goats, rats.

19 Veg Reef 2 Coral cay (ha) (km ) Substrate Historic Land use Current land use DL Fairfax 15.78 4.0 Shingle Past – guano / rock Low visitation. 40% (East) phosphate mining, bombing 21.21 ha range, goats, rats. Lady 15.10 10.0 Shingle Light tower, guano / rock Current – high level of 60% Musgrave phosphate mining, camping, visitation, seasonal 19.49 ha high visitation, resort during camping, toilet block. 1930s. Lady Elliot 32.86 1.8 Shingle Lighthouse, high level of Lighthouse, resort 90% 42.40 ha guano / rock phosphate buildings and air strip; mining, >90% of top soil high level of visitation; > removed, active replanting in 10% of the cay is used 1960s. for human occupancy. Total area: 255.68 122.6 335.55 ha

Sources: Heatwole (1984b); QPWS (2000); Daly & Griggs (2006). DL: Disturbance level

2.4 Climate

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) currently operates two weather stations within the Capricornia Cays: Heron Island (Station No. 039122, est. 1956) and Lady Elliot Island (Station No. 39059, est. 1939). Weather data has also been recorded from North Reef Island (Station No. 039130) from 1962–1977. The general climate character for the Capricornia Cays has been extrapolated from ambient temperature, rainfall, humidity and wind data recorded from these weather stations (BOM, 2008a). Information on cyclonic activity in the region has also been provided by BOM (2008b). The data analysed were accurate up to the 16th of December 2008 (BOM, 2008a; 2008b). Unless otherwise stated, all references to seasons are to the standard allocation of months, i.e. summer is from December – February, autumn is from March – May, winter is from June – August, and spring is from October – November. All graphs presented have been derived from BOM data provided online (http://www.bom.gov.au).

Comparisons with the climate experienced at the adjacent coastal mainland (Gladstone, Pacific Heights), at Willis Island in the Coral Sea Islands Territory, and Lord Howe Island are highlighted. Mainland coastal weather stations were chosen based on proximity to the Capricornia Cays region and the length of records available. For instance, Pacific Heights was chosen instead of Yeppoon, as its period of recording is longer.

Reports of climate trends and patterns for the Great Barrier Reef have predominantly focussed on the broader region, with minimal attention given to local climate trends. As the Capricornia Cays are located at the southern end of the GBR, climate trends in this region are likely to differ from the general climate trends presented for the greater GBR region (e.g. Lough, 2007). Trends in climate extrapolated from the long-term data from the three Capricornia Cays weather stations are provided.

20 2.4.1 Ambient temperatures

Current

The Capricornia Cays experience a dry maritime climate that is generally warmer than the adjacent coastal mainland region. The ambient temperature range at Heron Island and Lady Elliot Island is from 16.6-29.5ºC (BOM, 2008a). Mean monthly temperatures for the region are given in Table 2-2. Winter is not as cold as on the mainland, with Gladstone recording a mean annual temperature range of 13.3-31.2ºC. Compared to other regions, the Capricornia Cays have a climate that is more similar to tropical regions than subtropical regions. Townsville has also recorded a similar range of 13.6–31.4ºC. The monthly temperature range for Willis Island in the Coral Sea is from 21.9–30.7ºC, while Lord Howe Island at the southern limit of coral reefs in Australia has a temperature range from 13.4–25.6ºC.

Mean monthly temperature at the Capricornia Cays is fairly consistent with a range of 12.6ºC between the warmest and coolest months. The temperature range is also consistent at Willis Island (8.8ºC), and Lord Howe Island (11.9ºC); however, mainland regions often have a higher range in temperatures (17.9ºC at Gladstone, and 17.8ºC at Townsville). The lowest temperature recorded at the Capricornia Cays was 5.0ºC at Heron Island in July 1965 (BOM, 2008a). The highest temperatures recorded was at Heron Island (34.7ºC) in December 2005. Table 2-2. Climate averages for the Capricornia Cays, based on weather records from Lady Elliot and Heron Islands (source: BOM, 2008a).

Ambient Rainfall Relative humidity Cyclones temperatures (%) (1906-2007) Min Max Mean No. rain No. % per Month (ºC) (ºC) (mm) days 9 am 3 pm recorded month Jan 24.1 29.5 113.1 8.7 74.0 70.0 4* 21.4 Feb 24.1 29.3 154.8 10.2 76.0 72.0 7* 35.7 Mar 23.5 28.5 117.7 10.3 74.5 71.5 8 33.3 Apr 21.9 26.8 107.9 10.6 73.0 70.0 1* 2.4 May 19.7 24.3 112.0 10.5 73.5 69.5 1 4.8 Jun 17.6 22.0 104.2 8.5 74.5 70.0 0 - Jul 16.6 21.3 86.7 7.4 73.0 68.5 0 - Aug 17.2 22.3 54.6 5.6 70.5 65.5 0 - Sep 18.7 24.2 33.8 4.2 69.0 65.0 0 - Oct 20.4 26.0 49.3 4.9 70.0 67.0 0 - Nov 22.1 27.6 60.8 5.2 71.0 68.0 0 - Dec 23.3 28.9 88.7 6.8 72.0 69.0 1* 2.4

Notes: * = cyclones recorded over both months Trends

Long-term climate data available from Lady Elliot Island have shown an increase of around +1.0ºC in the maximum temperatures for all months since the 1958–1967 decade (R2=0.97). Summer temperatures have also shown an increase for both the minimum (+0.6ºC, R2=0.57) and maximum (+1.0ºC, R2=0.79) temperatures since 1958 (Table 2-3). No significant trends have been detected

21 for the winter temperatures. Long-term data from Heron Island is not complete so the robustness of this trend cannot be investigated. The average temperature increase in Australia over the last century is around +0.8 ºC, with minimum temperatures having risen at a greater rate than maximum temperatures (Hughes, 2003). Willis Island has recorded a greater increase in temperature during the winter months (Batianoff et al., 2008b, 2010a). The increases in maximum temperatures recorded indicate that the moisture stress may be increasing for wildlife, and evapotranspiration rates may be greater for plants (Korner, 2006). Table 2-3. Ambient temperature changes for each decade at Lady Elliot Island

(Source: BOM, 2008a) Annual Summer Winter Period Min Max Min Max Min Max 1958-1967 20.5 25.2 23.3 28.5 20.9 25.4 1968-1977 20.6 25.4 23.4 28.6 20.1 24.8 1978-1987 21.0 25.6 24.1 29.3 20.3 24.7 1988-1997 20.7 26.1 23.8 29.8 20.4 25.1 1998-2007 20.8 26.2 23.9 29.5 20.4 25.0 +1.0ºC +0.6ºC +1.0ºC Trend No trend 2 2 2 No trend No trend (R =0.97) (R =0.57) (R =0.79)

2.4.2 Rainfall

Current

Annual rainfall at the Capricornia Cays averaged 1035 mm over 85 rain days at Heron Island, and 1134 mm over 101 rain days at Lady Elliot Island. This gives an approximate mean rainfall for the region of 1085 mm over 93 rain days (Table 2-2). By comparison, the mean annual rainfall at the adjacent mainland towns ranged from 877 mm over 66 rain days at Gladstone, to 1302 mm over 72 rain days at Pacific Heights (BOM, 2008a). Mean annual rainfall at Willis Island (1115 mm) is similar to the Capricornia Cays whereas the more southerly Lord Howe Island mean annual rainfall is 1569 mm (BOM, 2008a).

The variance between the lowest annual rainfall and highest annual rainfall recorded on individual islands in the Capricornia Cays group (590–1924 mm) was not as high as Willis Island (241-2482 mm) (BOM, 2008a), which is most likely due to the higher number of cyclones experienced at Willis Island, bringing higher rainfall in shorter periods. The largest rainfall recorded in a 24 hour period in the Capricornia Cays was 454 mm at Lady Elliot Island on 31st January 1943.

According to Lough (2007), the climate at the Great Barrier Reef is dominated by two large-scale global circulation systems: the south-east trade wind circulation, and the Australian summer north- westerly monsoon circulations. In tropical regions, rainfall is usually highest during the monsoon season which corresponds with the summer to early autumn months in the southern hemisphere. The wettest month at the Capricornia Cays is February (150 mm) and September is the driest month (31 mm) (Figure 2-3).

Though mean annual rainfall amounts are similar for the Capricornia Cays and Willis Island, seasonal distribution of rainfall is more pronounced at Willis Island. About 65% of the rainfall received in the Capricornia Cays falls during the summer and autumn months of December - May. The equivalent period at the mainland receives around 72% of the annual rainfall. Winter rainfall accounts for 22% of rainfall at the Capricornia Cays and 11% at Willis Island (Figure 2-3). Rainfall

22 at Lord Howe Island is more evenly distributed throughout the year, with winter rainfall accounting for 29% of the total (Figure 2-3). Average annual humidity for the Capricornia Cays is around 70- 74%, which is less variable than Willis Island (68-81%). Lord Howe Island’s relative humidity ranges from 60-70% (BOM, 2008a).

120 Islands 100 80 Mainland 60 40 20 0 -20 -40

Monthly rainfall (mm) rainfall Monthly -60 -80 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Month

Figure 2-2. Comparison of average monthly rainfall of Lady Elliot, Heron Island and North Reef Islands in the Capricornia Cays, and coastal mainland locations of Pacific Heights, Gladstone and Bustard Head, compared with the mean monthly rainfall for the Capricornia Cays of 90.4mm per month.

Capricornia Cays Willis Island Lord Howe Island (mean = 1035 mm) (mean = 1115 mm) (mean = 1569 mm)

Spring Spring 6% Spring Summer 13% 23% 22% Summer Winter 34% 11% Winter Summer 22% 47%

Autumn Autumn 36% Winter 26% Autumn 29% 31%

Figure 2-3. Comparison of rainfall seasonality at the Capricornia Cays, Willis Island and Lord Howe Island Trends

Variability in annual rainfall is shown in Figure 2-4. Since weather recording began, annual rainfall has ranged from a minimum of 590 mm recorded at Lady Elliot Island in 2001 to a maximum of 1924 mm, also recorded at Lady Elliot Island in 1989 (BOM, 2008a). Throughout the Capricornia Cays region as well as Willis Island and Lord Howe Island, rainfall for the 15 years prior to 2007 has been lower than average, indicative of the recent drought across much of eastern Australia. Between 1993 and 2008 only two years had an above average rainfall at the Capricornia Cays, with similar accounts for Willis Island and Lord Howe Island (Figure 2-4). The major trend for duration of drought (less than the mean rainfall) has changed from three to four years (1940–1991) to three to seven years (1992-2007). In 2008-2011, Lady Elliot Island received average or above average rainfall (1029 to 1622 mm).

23 Capricorn-Bunker

1500

1000

500

0

-500 Annual rainfall (mm) rainfall Annual -1000

1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 Year

Willis Island

1500

1000

500

0

Rainfall (mm) Rainfall -500

-1000

1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 Year

Lord Howe Island

1500

1000

500

0

Rainfall (mm) Rainfall -500

-1000

1940 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1989 1994 1999 2004 Year

Figure 2-4. Long-term annual rainfall variability on the Capricornia Cays of North Reef, Heron and Lady Elliot Islands (top), Willis Island in the Coral Sea, and Lord Howe Island. A change in the seasonality of rainfall is another climate change trend. During the 1940-1969 period summer rainfall accounted for 35.9% of all rain at Lady Elliot Island (Table 2-4). By the most recent 1980–2007 period, this proportion had decreased to 29.3%, a decrease of 6.6% (Table 2-4). During the same time, winter rainfall proportion has increased from 20.7% in 1940–1969 to 23.4% in the most recent 30-year period, an increase of 2.7%. Willis Island has also seen a decline in summer rainfall and an increase in winter rainfall, whereas Lord Howe Island’s summer rainfall component has increased and winter rainfall decreased (Table 2-4).

24 Table 2-4. Seasonal proportion of rainfall at the Capricornia Cays, Willis Island and Lord Howe Island from 1940–2007

Location Period Summer Autumn Winter Spring 1940-1969 35.9 29.8 20.7 13.6 1950-1979 34.5 28.6 21.9 15.0 1960-1989 32.1 31.1 21.7 15.0 Capricornia Cays 1970-1999 30.6 32.1 22.0 15.3 1980-2007* 29.3 33.0 23.4 14.3 TREND -6.6% +3.2% +2.7% +0.7% 1940-1969 49.1 33.3 10.0 7.6 1950-1979 47.9 35.1 9.8 7.2 1960-1989 46.6 37.0 10.3 6.0 Willis Island 1970-1999 43.5 40.0 11.2 5.4 1980-2007* 44.6 38.9 11.8 4.7 TREND -4.5% +5.6% +1.8% -2.9% 1940-1969 21 25 30 24 1950-1979 20 26 31 24 1960-1989 19 26 31 24 Lord Howe Island 1970-1999 21 26 30 23 1980-2007* 23 26 29 22 TREND +2% +1% -1% -2%

2.4.3 Wind and cyclones

Current

Wind conditions on the Great Barrier Reef are relatively consistent throughout the year. The main wind influence is dominated by south-easterlies, especially during the ‘dry’ season from April to October. Calm conditions have been recorded for between 2–4% of the days (BOM, 2008a). The most variable wind conditions occur during the ‘wet’ summer season when the northerly monsoonal wind influence is most common (Wachenfeld et al., 2007).

At the Capricornia Cays, the least windy months are the spring months of September – November. The windiest months at 9am and 3pm are June/July and March, respectively (Table 2-5). Mean monthly wind speeds range from 17.0–24.6 km/h at Heron Island and 18.0–25.7 km/h at Lady Elliot Island (Table 2-5). Mean minimum wind speeds are similar at Willis Island, though the maximum speeds are greater. Lord Howe Island has a smaller range of wind speeds, with higher minimum wind speeds and lower maximum wind speed (Table 2-5).

25 Table 2-5. Wind conditions at Heron Island, Lady Elliot Island, Willis Island and Lord Howe Island (Source: BOM, 2008)

Heron Lady Elliot Willis Lord Howe Wind speed (km/h) 9am 3pm 9am 3pm 9am 3pm 9am 3pm Mean wind speed 21.4 20.7 22.7 21.5 23.6 22.3 21.1 22.1 Mean minimum wind 17.7 17.0 19.5 18.0 18.8 17.2 19.8 20.7 speed Nov Sep Oct Sep Dec Dec Nov Oct Mean maximum wind 24.6 23.9 25.7 24.6 27.3 26.1 22.2 24.3 speed Jul Mar Jun Mar Apr/Jul Jul Jul Jul

Cyclonic activity in the Capricornia Cays generally occurs in the period of January to March (Table 2-2). A cyclone was however recorded in the area in July 1935 (BOM, 2008b). Eight cyclones have passed within 50 km of Lady Elliot Island during 1906–2007, and 21 have passed within 100 km (BOM, 2008b). Nott & Hayne (2001) analysed the record of cyclones over the past 5000 years along the Great Barrier Reef and found that one extreme cyclone (i.e., with a pressure <920 hPa) occurred once every 200 cyclones recorded. Forty cyclones passed within 100 km of Willis Island, and nine within 50 km during the same period (BOM, 2008b). Fourteen have passed within 100 km of Lord Howe Island and three cyclones have passed within 50 km (BOM, 2008b). Trends

Lough (2007) reports a decrease in the number of tropical cyclones in the Australian region overall from 1970-1997. However, whilst the frequency of cyclones overall has decreased, the frequency of intense cyclones has increased. Hughes (2003) also reports a slight decline in the number of tropical cyclones in the Australian region, but a slight increase in the number of more intense cyclones. There have been no clear trends towards an increase or decrease in cyclone frequency in the Capricornia Cays area since records started in 1906 (BOM, 2008b). Any spatial distribution changes in cyclone tracks will most likely be modulated by ENSO extremes (Lough, 2007).

26 3 Methodology

3.1 Fieldwork

Thirteen of the fifteen Capricorn-Bunker Islands were surveyed from August 2007 – September 2008 over five separate trips (Table 3-1). The two Hoskyn Islands were not visited during the 2007–08 surveys. However, the senior author surveyed the Hoskyn Islands in May 2000. The time spent on each island varied from two to three hours at the smaller islands to 7.5 days at North West Island. Table 3-1. Dates of surveys of the Capricornia Cays: 2007-08 Trip No. Islands Start End No. of days 1 – Aug 2007 North West Island 18/08/2007 24/08/2007 7 2 – Sept 2007 North Reef Island 11/09/2007 12/09/2007 0.5 Tryon Island 12/09/2007 14/09/2007 3 Wreck Island 15/09/2007 16/09/2007 2 Masthead Island 17/09/2007 19/09/2007 3 Erskine Island 19/09/2007 19/09/2007 0.5 3 – Nov 2007 Erskine Island 16/11/2007 16/11/2007 0.5 Heron Island 12/11/2007 14/11/2007 3 Wilson Island 15/11/2007 15/11/2007 0.5 4 – April 2007 Lady Elliot Island 29/3/2008 1/4/2008 3 5 – Sept 2008 One Tree Island 23/09/2008 24/09/2008 2 Lady Musgrave Island 19/09/2008 20/09/2008 2 Fairfax Islands 21/09/2008 22/09/2008 1 day each TOTAL 29

3.2 Flora

A list of all vascular plant taxa was compiled for each island. The frequency of each plant taxa was approximated as either ‘abundant’ (>25% cover), ‘frequent’ (6-25%), ‘infrequent’ (1-5%) or ‘rare’ (<1%) as per Batianoff and Burgess (1993). For analytical purposes, frequencies that were recorded as a composite of two abundance classes were treated as the more abundant class. An inventory was compiled for all plant taxa recorded on the Capricorn-Bunker Island together with floristic attributes such as family, status and life form. Each plant taxa was given a status of ‘indigenous to coral cays’, ‘native to the mainland’ or ‘exotic’. Plants with unknown origins that are widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific region are assumed to be indigenous to the Capricornia Cays.

Plant voucher specimens were collected during surveys for all species on each island, as well as species that had not been collected in the past ten years. Voucher specimens were incorporated into the Queensland Herbarium (BRI) collection. The Queensland Herbarium records database system (HERBRECS, 2008) was utilised extensively to verify dates and locations of previous botanical collections. Previous botanical reports for the Capricornia Cays were critically examined to identify possible erroneous recordings in the past. Comparison with earlier terrestrial flora lists by Heatwole (1984a; 1984b), Heatwole & Walker (1989), Chaloupka & Domm (1985; 1986), Cribb (1965; 1969; 1972; 1975; 1976; 1979), Cribb & Cribb (1985), Walker (1991a, 1991b), Batianoff (1998; 1999a) and Batianoff & Hacker (2000) were made to assess changes in flora that have

27 occurred over time. Plant species compositions for each island were compared using the Bray- Curtis association analysis function in PATN (Belbin, 2004).

Island disturbance was estimated as a percentage from 0–100% (least disturbed to most disturbed) based on past and present natural disturbances (sea turtle nesting, bird burrows, severe weather, cyclones, scale insect damage, etc.) as well as human activities (resorts, campgrounds, lighthouses, etc.). These rankings are listed in Table 2-1. Details of island features and known disturbance history for each Capricornia Cay were determined from field knowledge and historical data provided by Heatwole (1984a) and QPWS (2000). A higher weighting was given to human disturbances.

3.3 Vegetation

Vegetation mapping of the Capricornia Cays was undertaken by examination of aerial photographs and field sampling. QASCO were commissioned to record new photo imagery for all of the islands within the region as part of this project. The vertical aerial photos used in the aerial photo interpretation are listed in Table 3-2. Table 3-2. Aerial photographs (2007) and CORVEG sites used in this project.

CORVEG Island Run Frame Scale Date sites North Reef 1 894-895 4000 22/11/2007 6 Tyron Island 1 896-898 4000 22/11/2007 27 North West Island 1 899-902 6000 22/11/2007 18 Wilson Island 1 890-891 4000 22/11/2007 12 Wreck Island 1 888-889 4000 22/11/2007 21 Heron Island 1 886-887 6000 22/11/2007 17 Erskine Island 1 903-904 4000 22/11/2007 16 Masthead Island 1 910-914 4000 22/11/2007 30 One Tree Island 1 882-883 4000 22/11/2007 26 Fairfax Islands 1 871-875 4000 22/11/2007 31 Hoskyn Islands 1 876-881 4000 22/11/2007 - Lady Musgrave Island 1 864-865 6000 22/11/2007 21 Lady Elliot Island 1 861-863 6000 22/11/2007 13

Vegetation mapping is produced at a map scale between 1:1000 and 1:2000 depending on the size of the island. Digital data are available from the Queensland Government Information Service (2012). The metadata for the digital data is provided in Appendix D. On-ground vegetation sampling involved the use of a series of transects running perpendicular to the shore. Distances were measured along each shore and sampling was either by formal plots or notebook observations. The plot sampling methods described in Neldner et al. (2012b) were generally followed. Plot sizes ranged from 1 m2 for groundcover species, and up to 200 m2 for the Pisonia forests. Percentage cover of each species present and the heights of dominant vegetation were recorded with additional notes on plant condition, soil and other wildlife. The density of trees was determined using plots of variable size ranging from 50–200 m2. Pisonia stem diameters were measured at a height of 30 cm. Where more than one stem at a height of 1.3m from the ground was present, diameters of all stems at 1.3 m were measured. Individuals less than 10 cm in diameter at 30 cm from the ground were not measured. Estimates of height were made using a clinometer and/or visual estimates to the nearest one metre.

28 The nomenclature given to each vegetation map unit was based on the structural classification of vegetation provided by Neldner (1984). Vegetation community boundaries were determined by aerial photograph interpretation (API), and the vegetation descriptions derived from the 238 plots which are stored in the Queensland Herbarium’s CORVEG database. Map unit descriptions provide information of the species frequency and abundance, as well as height and cover information for each structural layer (Neldner et al. 2012b).

3.4 Soils A total of 213 soil samples were collected from the Capricornia Cays during the 2007/08 surveys. Surface soils (‘A1 horizons’) were sampled at depth of 0–20 cm using a 7 cm diameter sand auger. Deeper profiles (‘A2 horizons’) were sampled from vegetation communities in roughly 20 cm intervals (i.e. 20-40 cm, 40-60 cm, 100+ cm) until a sharp change in colour was seen and no further organic matter was observable (‘C horizons’). Samples were placed into zip-lock bags on site, and dried in the Queensland Herbarium laboratory.

Soils sampled included sediments of beach sands, as well as soil profiles from vegetation of Casuarina equisetifolia, Argusia argentea, Pisonia grandis and glades where Pisonia had formally been present. Soils were sampled to the maximum depth of ‘A’ horizons and at the surface of ‘C’ horizon. This sampling provided information on soil profiles to a maximum depth of 1.1 m.

The chemical component of all soil samples were assessed by the University of Queensland’s Analytical Services unit within the School of Land and Food Science. Analyses were conducted for pH, electrical conductivity (dS/m2), total nitrogen (Wt %), total carbon (Wt %), organic carbon (Wt %), available phosphorus (Colwell-P) (mg/kg), calcium (cmol(+)/kg), potassium (cmol(+)/kg), magnesium (cmol(+)/kg), sodium (cmol(+)/kg), cation exchange capacity (cmol(+)/kg), and total phosphorus (Wt %).

29 PART B. Results and discussion

4 Flora The construction of the regional checklist allows comparisons with previous studies (Heatwole, 1984a; Chaloupka & Domm, 1985) and the analysis of species turnover and the identifications of trends in the flora. While the Capricornia Cays native flora is relatively stable, there are changes over time due to the incursions of exotic weeds and the impacts of natural and human disturbances.

4.1 Regional checklist

The checklist of vascular flora of the Capricorn-Bunker Islands (Capricornia Cays) is presented in the Appendix A and has been published in Batianoff et al. 2009b. Table 1 provides a summary of the current indigenous and naturalised flora. The combined regional flora of the 15 coral cays contains 131 species, 55 families and 105 genera (

Table 4-1). The Capricornia Cays flora is dominated by dicotyledons (99 spp., 76%), with herbs (89 spp., 68%) the dominant life forms. The most successful families are Poaceae (20 spp., 15%), Asteraceae (10 spp., 8%), Brassicaceae (8 spp., 6%) and Euphorbiaceae (6 spp., 5%). The checklist lists 88 (68%) species of herbs, 21 (16%) species of trees/tall shrubs, 13 (10%) species of shrubs and eight (6%) species of vines.

The indigenous flora of the Capricornia Cays is comprised of 44 species (34%), 31 families and 41 genera. The naturalised flora has 87 species (66%), 38 families and 70 genera including 10 Australian species (8%) that are native to the adjacent mainland, but not indigenous to coral cays (

Table 4-1). Native families with more than one species per family are: Poaceae (5 spp.), Nyctaginaceae (4 spp.), Aizoaceae (2 spp.), Boraginaceae (2 spp.), Convolvulaceae (2 spp.), Euphorbiaceae (2 spp.), Fabaceae (2 spp.) and Moraceae (2 spp.). Prominent naturalised families are: Poaceae (15 spp.), Asteraceae (9 spp.), Brassicaceae (7 spp.), Amaranthaceae (4 spp.), Euphorbiaceae (4 spp.), Agavaceae (3 spp.), Commelinaceae (3 spp.), Malvaceae (3 spp.) and Solanaceae (3 spp.). The indigenous flora is composed of 21 herb species, 14 trees/tall shrub species, five vine species and four shrub species. The naturalised flora life forms are 68 herbs, nine shrubs, seven tree/tall shrub species and three vine species.

4.2 New records

During the 2007/08 surveys, two indigenous species were first recorded for the Capricornia Cays.

(A) Hernandia nymphaeifolia, a small tree, was recorded at North West Island as a new record for the Central Queensland region, and the southern limit of its occurrence in Australia. This tropical seashores species occurs throughout northern Australia, New Guinea, Fiji and the Melanesian region. In the Northern Territory it is considered to be vulnerable (Kerrigan & Cowie, 2006).

(B) Boerhavia sp. (Bargara L.Pedley 5382), an undescribed perennial herb, was recorded at Lady Elliot Island as a new record for coral cays. This species is widely distributed in tropical northern Australia, Central Queensland and New Guinea.

30 Twelve exotic species and two mainland native species were discovered as new naturalisations for the Capricornia Cays:

(A) *Amaranthus blitum (creeping amaranth) was recorded at One Tree Island, the first record for Central Queensland and for coral cays in Australia. This species has a relatively isolated and patchy distribution, limited to the Cape York region of north Queensland, and south- east Queensland.

(B) *Calyptocarpus vialis (creeping Cinderella weed) was recorded at Heron Island. This weedy plant is widespread along coastal areas of Queensland.

(C) *Cynodon nlemfuensis var. nlemfuensis (Bermuda grass) was recorded at Heron Island. It is widely naturalised in coastal and inland tropical and subtropical areas.

(D) *Sorghum bicolor (sorghum) was recorded at camping grounds at North West Island. An annual grass that occurs in disturbed areas. It is not considered likely to spread into native forests.

(E) Agave sisalana (sisal hemp) was recorded at Lady Elliot Island. It is an escapee from garden areas and is spreading into areas of natural vegetation.

(F) *Mirabilis jalapa (four o’clock) was recorded at Lady Elliot Island. It was originally planted in the staff residential gardens and has escaped into Casuarina forest. (G) Tradescantia pallida (wandering Jew) was recorded at Lady Elliot Island. It was planted in staff gardens and is currently spreading along roadsides in the Casuarina forest.

(H) *Tradescantia spathacea (oyster plant) was recorded at Lady Elliot Island. It was planted in the staff residential gardens and has escaped into Casuarina forest.

(I) *Hylocereus undatus (moonlight cactus) was recorded at Lady Elliot Island. Originally planted in the staff residential gardens, it has now escaped into native forest areas.

(J) # Dentella repens (dentella) was recorded at Lady Elliot Island at the rubbish dump. Australian mainland herb that is not expected to spread.

(K) #Hydrocotyle acutiloba (pennywort) was recorded at Lady Elliot Island in open grassland area. It occurs in disturbed areas and is not considered likely to spread into native forests.

(L) *Stachytarpheta cayennensis (snake weed) was recorded at Lady Elliot Island at the rubbish dump. It occurred in disturbed areas and is not considered likely to spread into native forests.

(M) *Chenopodium murale (green fathen) was recorded at Lady Elliot Island in open grassland area. It occurs in disturbed areas and is not considered likely to spread into native forests

(N) *Gomphrena celosioides (gomphrena weed) was recorded at Lady Elliot Island in open grassland area. It occurs in disturbed areas and is not considered likely to spread into native forests

Five previously reported species were not found during the 2007/08 surveys. These include *Bromus catharticus, Cocos nucifera, *Conyza canadensis var. canadensis, *Digitaria didactyla and *Polycarpon tetraphyllum.

Five species have doubtful origin and status on the Capricornia Cays: Cocos nucifera, Lepidium englerianum, Plumbago zeylanica, Portulaca oleracea and Pseudognaphalium luteoalbum. In this

31 study, L. englerianum, P. zeylanica and P. oleracea are assigned an indigenous status. Pseudognaphalium luteoalbum is a native species that is non-indigenous on the Capricornia Cays. The origins and the status of C. nucifera is unresolved (see Discussion). Table 4-1. Summary of major plant groups and life forms of the Capricornia Cays

Floristic statistics: Totals Dicotyledons Monocotyledons Conifers Ferns Families 55 47 7 1 0 31 native 38 exotic Genera 105 82 22 1 0 41 native 70 exotic Species/entities 131 99 31 1 0 (a) Native to coral cays 44 (34%) 38 6 0 0 (b) Introduced mainland 10 (8%) 6 3 1 0 (c) Exotic 77 (59%) 55 22 0 0 Total naturalised 87 (66%) 61 25 1 0 Life forms:

Native species Trees / tall shrubs (>2m) 14 (11%) 13 1 0 0 Shrubs 4 (3%) 4 0 0 0 Herbs – annual 7 (5%) 7 0 0 0 Herbs – perennial 14 (11%) 9 5 0 0 Vines 5 (4%) 5 0 0 0 Naturalised species Trees / tall shrubs (>2m) 7 (5%) 6 0 1 0 Shrubs 9 (7%) 4 5 0 0 Herbs – annual 47 (36%) 37 10 0 0 Herbs – perennial 21 (16%) 11 10 0 0 Vines 3 (2%) 3 0 0 0

4.3 Patterns of species distribution

4.3.1 Geographic limits

Eleven species (25%) of the entire coral cay native flora reach their southern limit of their Australian distribution at the Capricornia Cays (Table 4-2). A few plants of Suriana maritima have been found on the mainland at one location (Rodds Peninsular National Park) which is now the most southern location for this species. However, the rest of the population of S. maritima is found at the Capricornia Cays. Two taxa are known only from the study area in Australia (Boerhavia albiflora var. heronensis and Trachymene cussonii).

32 Table 4-2. Plant species with northern and southern geographic limits at the Capricornia Cays Northern and Southern Limits Abutilon albescens – Malvaceae: Shrub Torres Strait to Lady Elliot Island (24º07’S, 152º 43’E) + Northern Territory, New Guinea, New Caledonia Boerhavia albiflora var. heronensis – Nyctaginaceae: Herb This variety is endemic to the Capricorn-Bunker Islands. Southern limit: Lady Elliot Island (24º07’S, 152º43’E), northern limit: North West Island (23º12’S, 151º42’E) Chamaesyce atoto – Euphorbiaceae: Annual herb Cook district to West Hoskyn Island (23º48’S, 152º17’E) + Northern Territory, New Guinea, New Caledonia Commicarpus insularum – Nyctaginaceae: Vine Mainly Port Curtis, one record in North Kennedy district (19º58’S, 145º35’E). South to Hoskyn Island (23º48’S, 152º17’E) Cordia subcordata – Boraginaceae: Tree Cook district to Masthead Island (23º32’S, 151º43’E) + New Guinea, Northern Territory, New Caledonia Hernandia nymphaeifolia – Hernandiaceae: Tree Cook and North Kennedy districts. Previously, only as far south as Zoe Bay, Hinchinbrook Island (18º23’S, 146º19’E) + New Guinea, New Caledonia. Lepidium englerianum – Brassicaceae: Annual herb Cook district to Fairfax Island (23º51’S, 152º22’E – Collected in 1927) + New Caledonia Pisonia grandis – Nyctaginaceae: Tree Cook district to Lady Elliot Island (24º07’S, 152º43’E) + New Caledonia Stenotaphrum micranthum – Poaceae: Herb Cook District to West Hoskyn Island (23º48’S, 152º17’E) + New Guinea Triumfetta procumbens – Sparrmanniaceae: Herb Cook district to Lady Elliot Island (24º07’S, 152º43’E) + New Guinea, New Caledonia Trachymene cussonii – Apiaceae: Annual herb Has been reviewed by Holland (1989). Native to Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Australia, it is restricted to the Capricorn-Bunker Islands in Australia. Southern limit: Lady Elliot Island (24º07’S, 152º43’E). Northern limit: Tryon Island (23º15’S, 151º47’E) + Vanuatu and New Caledonia

Notes: New Caledonia information from Morat et al. (2001)

4.3.2 Rare species

Frequency of occurrence of species on each island is given in Appendix A. Rare species occurrences, i.e. one to three individual indigenous plants currently found in only one location are Calophyllum inophyllum (North West Island), Clerodendrum inerme (Masthead Island) and Hernandia nymphaeifolia (North West Island). Rare species represented by a few individuals and found on one or two cays include Stephania japonica (Masthead Island), Triumfetta procumbens (Fairfax West Island and Lady Elliot Island) and Ximenia americana (Tryon Island). Other species with limited distributions include Boerhavia sp. (Bargara L.Pedley 5382) at Lady Elliot Island) and an annual herb Salsola kali at Erskine and Masthead Islands.

Fifty-five exotic species are found on only one island within the Capricornia Cays (Appendix A). Of these, 47 species are limited to Lady Elliot Island, however not all are considered rare on Lady Elliot Island. For example, *Lantana camara was recorded as abundant and *Stenotaphrum

33 secundatum, *Eragrostis tenuifolia, *Bryophyllum delagoense, *B. pinnatum and *Alternanthera pungens were relatively frequent at Lady Elliot Island (Appendix A).

4.3.3 Abundant species

The two most abundant exotic species in the study areas are *Cakile edentula (13 islands) and *Solanum americanum (12 islands). The ten most widely distributed indigenous plant species on the Capricornia Cays are listed in Table 4-3. Four indigenous species are found on all fifteen islands: Casuarina equisetifolia subsp. incana, Pisonia grandis, Argusia argentea and Achyranthes aspera. The first three species are dominant in vegetation communities that make up 78% of the island vegetation. While 80% of indigenous species are either rare or infrequent, 98% of the exotic species are rare or infrequent, many of them only occurring on Lady Elliot Island (Figure 4-1). Table 4-3. List of the ten most frequent/abundant species at Capricornia Cays Plant Taxa No. islands Achyranthes aspera 15 Argusia argentea 15 Casuarina equisetifolia subsp. incana 15 Pisonia grandis 15 Abutilon albescens 14 Boerhavia albiflora var. heronensis 14 Lepturus repens 14 Thuarea involuta 13 Ficus opposita 12 Pandanus tectorius 12

Figure 4-1. Proportion of species making up each abundance category for native (n=44) and exotic (n=87) floras. Total species richness (occurrences) ranged from 16 species at North Reef Island to 97 species at Lady Elliot Island (Appendix A). Fairfax (East) Island had the lowest indigenous species richness (12 spp.) and Masthead Island had the highest (35 spp.). The number of exotic species recorded from each island varied from one species at Erskine to 76 species at Lady Elliot Island. The relationship between island area size and the number of native and naturalised species is given in Figure 5-2. A very weak trend was observed for indigenous species richness and island areas. However, there was no relationship between the number of exotic species and the size of island areas (Figure 4-2).

34 80 Nativ e Ex otic 70 Log. (Exotic) 60 Log. (Native) 50

40 (Exotics): R2 = 0.19 30 2

No. species (Natives): R = 0.39 20

10

0 0 30 60 90 120 Area (ha)

2 2 Figure 4-2. Species richness curve for native (n=44, R = 0.39) and exotic species (n=87, R =0.19) at the Capricornia Cays.

4.4 Character of flora

The regional importance of the Capricornia Cays flora is highlighted by the presence of the endemic taxon Boerhavia albiflora var. heronensis and Trachymene cussonii. It is significant that it forms the southern limit refuge for many GBR coral cay species in Australia and the tropical world (Table 4-2). This includes some of the most characteristic species of low island floras that are widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific Oceanic region, such as Argusia argentea, Cordia subcordata, Lepidium englerianum and Pisonia grandis. According to Batianoff et al. (2008b, 2009a), the flora of Coral Sea cays including the Capricorn-Bunker Islands are a subset of tropical flora found in the Indo-Pacific region. The connectivity of flora between distant islands is due to the South Equatorial Current, which reaches the Great Barrier Reef to the north of the study area, and the East Australian Current that operates southwards along the mainland coast (Wachenfeld et al., 2007). Together with the seabirds inhabiting the Capricornia Cays, these currents disperse coral cay plant propagules across very long distances (Batianoff et al., 2008b, 2009a). As a result, the flora of the Capricornia Cays has an affinity with islands elsewhere in the western Pacific Ocean as well as with the mainland of Australia (Batianoff & McDonald, 1980; Walker, 1991a; QPWS, 2000).

According to Stoddart and Fosberg (1991), the southern and northern Australian coral cays floras are different from the neighbouring islands of Melanesia. For example, neither of the two GBR cay provinces have orchids or ferns as common species. At the same time, the southern and northern coral cays are different from each other. The flora of the southern GBR cays are said to be characteristically ‘Indo-Pacific’ (Stoddart & Fosberg, 1991). The Pisonia forests at the Capricorn- Bunker Islands define the character of this region, whereas P. grandis occurs infrequently on the northern cays (Walker, 1991a). The southern cays also differ from the northern cays in not having mangroves, having fewer rock platform succulents and a much lower number of littoral rainforest species. The native flora of the northern cays is considered to be more similar to the Australian mainland and with species richness several times greater than the flora of southern cays (Walker, 1991a; Stoddart & Fosberg, 1991).

The wetter climate in the northern region and the closer proximity to the mainland provides for higher plant diversity. Avifauna and humans are other ecological factors likely to have contributed to the distinctiveness of the regions. The major disperser of fleshy rainforest species, the pied imperial pigeon (Ducula bicolor (Gray)), is seasonally abundant on most of the northern cays but it is absent at the southern cays (Crome, 1975). Selective planting of useful medicinal and food

35 plants by humans on the northern islands may have occurred and increased their species diversity (Stoddart & Fosberg, 1991).

4.5 Species richness

The indigenous species richness at Capricorn-Bunker Islands is higher than the Caroline Atoll Group islands (10º00’S, 150º14’W, Republic of Kiribati, central Pacific Ocean) where the average indigenous species richness of islands ranging in size from 4-70 ha rarely exceeded 18 species (Kepler & Kepler 1994). The number of indigenous species in the Capricornia Cays is also much higher than the cays contained within the remote Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve in the northern Coral Sea Islands Territory (Batianoff et al., 2008b, 2009a).

The theory of island biogeography proposes that the number of species present on any island is determined by its size and degree of remoteness (MacArthur & Wilson, 1967; Whittaker & Fernández-Palacios, 2007). However, in this study the relationship between island area and the number of native and naturalised species is very weak (Figure 4-2). It is apparent that species richness of low cays is more influenced by other factors than the size of the cays. Total species richness ranged from 16 species at North Reef Island to 97 species at Lady Elliot Island (Appendix A). Fairfax (East) Island had the lowest indigenous species richness (12 species) and Masthead Island had the highest (36 species).

4.6 Species of doubtful status

The status of coconut Cocos nucifera is contentious. According to the senior author’s field observations, the species does naturalise along the Queensland coast, but it is not invasive. Native-wild and/or cultivated coconuts were recorded at North Reef, Tryon, One Tree, North West, Wilson, Wreck, Heron, Hoskyn (West) and Lady Elliot Islands (Heatwole, 1984a). Coconuts are not reported for any of the Capricornia Cays in the checklist of Chaloupka and Domm (1985). In the late 1980s and to the present, all populations of coconuts found on cays administered by QPWS have been removed. As a result, this species is no longer found growing in the Capricornia Cays as remnant wild populations and/or as a naturalised species. During the current surveys, cultivated C. nucifera populations were only found on cays administered by the Commonwealth (North Reef and Lady Elliot Islands).

Early botanists and biogeographers frequently commented that coconuts in Australia were not common, but at the same time many explorers believed that coconuts were indigenous to Australia (Macgillivray, 1852; Bentham, 1878). According to Bostock & Holland (2010), C. nucifera is an introduced exotic to Queensland. In Volume 50 of the Flora of Australia, Du Puy and Telford (1993) state that coconuts are native to the Indo-Pacific Region including Australia. However, much of the current coconut drift seed that arrive at the Capricornia Cays probably originate from cultivated and/or naturalised populations. These coconuts are therefore not indigenous to Capricornia Cays and have not been included in the regional checklist of flora (Appendix A).

Lepidium englerianum and Portulaca oleracea are listed as naturalised exotics in Queensland (Bostock & Holland, 2010). According to Batianoff (2001), Lepidium englerianum is an endemic species to coral cays. Field observations along the Great Barrier Reef indicate that L. englerianum and P. oleracea are widely distributed and are part of the natural coral cay flora (Batianoff et al., 2008b, 2009b).

Plumbago zeylanica is recognised as native to Australia (Bostock & Holland, 2010; Du Puy & Telford, 1993d). According to Ridley (1930), P. zeylanica has an African/Asian origin and was

36 introduced into Australia during the early 1800s in contaminated imports. It is currently widespread across subtropical Africa, southern Asia, northern Australia and some Pacific Islands (Du Puy & Telford, 1993d).

Pseudognaphalium luteoalbum is considered native to the mainland of Australia (Bostock & Holland, 2010). However, the status of this species is doubtful due to its complex taxonomy. Field observations show that its distribution and growth are indicative of a weedy plant species. As a result, it is considered exotic to the Capricornia Cays.

4.7 Comparison of island floras

4.7.1 Similarity index

The fusion dendrogram of indigenous species (Figure 5-3) shows that the Capricornia Cays can be more or less separated into two groups. The first group includes North Reef, One Tree, the Hoskyn Islands, the Fairfax Islands, Lady Musgrave and Lady Elliot. The second group includes Tryon, North West, Wilson, Wreck, Heron, Erskine and Masthead Islands. The floristic associations between Capricornia Cays are shown to be relatively similar using native only (Figure 5-3) and combined native and naturalised (Figure 5-4) floristic data. The distinctiveness of Lady Elliot Island’s flora is due to the high number of species that have naturalised only at Lady Elliot Island (47 species), and it forms a separate outlier in the combined flora dendrogram.

The separation of islands into two distinct groups based on native flora species richness could be due to the closeness of islands to each other and/or the ‘distal’ and ‘proximal’ location relative to mainland. The southern Capricornia Cays are closer to the edge of the continental shelf and could therefore by subject to higher exposure to wind and waves. The northern group are closer to the mainland and more protected. The inclusion of North Reef Island in the southern group could be due to the low number of indigenous species recorded on the island (13 species), and the comparatively low abundance of key species such as Pisonia grandis.

Figure 4-3. Fusion dendrogram of the floristic association of native species on the Capricornia Cays based on Belbin’s (2004) PATN analysis using plant presence/absence data.

37

Figure 4-4. Fusion dendrogram of the floristic association of all species on the Capricorn-Bunker Islands based on Belbin’s (2004) PATN analysis using plant presence/absence data.

4.7.2 Disturbance

All cays are subject to some natural disturbances by wildlife and weather conditions. The level of human disturbance ranges from very low to very high. Table 2-1 provides some of the known information of historic and current disturbances, as well as a percentage of overall disturbances for each island. The percentage of exotic species in each island’s floras increased with higher levels of disturbance (Figure 4-5). Erskine, Wreck and the Hoskyn Islands with the lowest estimated disturbance level (around 20%), had the lowest percentage of exotic species (14.9%). The islands that were estimated at about 30% disturbed (North Reef, Tryon, Masthead, One Tree and the Fairfax Islands) had an average of 24.8% exotic species. North West, Wilson, Heron and Lady Musgrave Islands were estimated to be around 60% disturbed and had an average of 31.2% exotic species. The naturalised non-indigenous species made up 78% of the flora of Lady Elliot Island, which is the most disturbed of all islands surveyed (90% disturbed) (Figure 4-5).

y = 0.82x - 4.37 80 R2 = 0.85 70 60 50 40 30 20 % of exotic spp. 10 0 0 20 40 60 80 100 Level of disturbance (%)

Figure 4-5. Relationship between estimated disturbance levels at each island and the percentage of exotic species in its floristic composition.

38 The exotic African big-headed ant Pheidole megacephala has been found on 11 of the 14 islands surveyed by Burwell et al. (2010, 2012). The inter-island distribution was strongly correlated with the amount of human visitation and the degree of disturbance on the islands.

4.8 Temporal patterns & human impacts

In terms of species the Capricornia Cays flora is dominated by short-lived herbs (54 species, 41%) indicates an adaptation of the regional flora to the dynamic local environment. The high percentage of rare and infrequent species (80% indigenous, 98% exotic) within the current Capricornia Cays flora compared to the Sunshine Coast on the mainland (62%) indicates that very few species have the potential for dominance (Batianoff & Burgess, 1993). Heatwole (1976; 1984a) and Batianoff (1999b) stated that coral cay floras generally have very high species turnover. Many species may establish for limited duration, surviving for some time in very low numbers. The dominance of dense to mid-dense canopies of communities of Pisonia grandis, Argusia argentea, Casuarina equisetifolia or Scaevola taccada with little or no herb species limit the potential establishment and spread of new plant species arrivals. The higher incidence of rarity in the exotic species compared to the indigenous species is most likely due to their recent establishment. In addition, the majority of exotic species are short-lived herbs (54%) indicating a preference for disturbance caused by human activities (Table 1).

It is difficult to comment on long term changes to the regional flora of Capricornia Cays, as most of the past regional studies used lists derived by compilation of anecdotal records gathered over long periods of time. The list of Heatwole (1984a) of 85 species with 41 exotics (48%) and Chaloupka and Domm (1985) of 85 species including 46 exotics (54%) were updated to the current nomenclature and erroneous records removed. The current checklist includes 121 total species (excluding naturalised mainland Australian species). The current data indicate that numbers of exotic species have risen to 77 (59%), which is a rate of increase of 1.5 species per annum. Bromus catharticus, Conyza canadensis var. canadensis, Digitaria didactyla and Polycarpon tetraphyllum were not recorded in the 2007/08 surveys.

The number of native species in this region over the last 24 years remains relatively static. Heatwole (1984a) lists 44 native species, Chaloupka and Domm (1985) recorded 39 species and the current checklist (Appendix A) lists 44 species. However, other changes have occurred on individual islands. For example, some of the more common species of the mid 1980s surveys are no longer widespread.

Spinifex sericeus, a perennial grass, was no longer recorded at North Reef, Tryon, Heron, One Tree, Hoskyn East, Hoskyn West, Lady Musgrave and Lady Elliot Islands. Trachymene cussonii, an annual herb, was common and abundant on most islands in 2007/ 2008 but was previously recorded as infrequent and/or rare at Masthead, One Tree, Fairfax West and Lady Elliot Islands. Ipomoea pes-caprae subsp. brasiliensis, a perennial herb, was not recorded at North Reef, Tryon, North West, Wreck and Fairfax East Islands. Chamaesyce atoto an annual herb was not recorded at Wilson, Heron, One Tree, Hoskyn East, Fairfax East and Fairfax West and Lady Elliot Islands. Tetragonia tetragonioides an annual herb was not recorded at North Reef, Heron, Hoskyn West and Fairfax West Islands. It is important to note that most of the above native species that were once present on an island, but not found during the current surveys, are the littoral species. The population losses of these beach plants may simply indicate loss and/or erosion of sandy beaches at the Capricornia Cays.

Olds et al. (in prep.) discusses the recent predominance of drought in relation to scale insect outbreaks on Pisonia grandis. The P. grandis forest on Tryon Island was almost completely

39 destroyed (88%) by an outbreak of the soft scale Pulvinaria urbicola (Cockerell) (Olds et al. 1996; Olds et al. in prep.). The loss of this almost monospecific stand at Tryon Island has allowed the expansion of other species including weeds.

Chaloupka & Domm (1986) stated that human visitor numbers are highly correlated to the number of exotic species. However, Heatwole & Walker (1989) suggested that the nature of human activities rather than numbers alone was more critical. The high number of exotic species present on Lady Elliot Island was mainly a consequence of human activities (Batianoff, 1998). In this study the intensity of human disturbance is clearly shown to be the major factor contributing to the establishment and spread of exotic species (Table 4). The islands with a disturbance level less than 50% recorded an average of 21% exotic species. Islands with a disturbance level of more than 50% recorded an average of 46% exotic species. The exotic species at Lady Elliot Island (around 90% disturbed) make up 68% of its flora (Figure 6). Forty-seven species (36.1%) of weeds found on Lady Elliot Island are not present on any other Capricornia Cay. If Lady Elliot Island was excluded, the exotic species for the region would be reduced to 39 species, i.e. 30% of the total flora.

5 Vegetation

5.1 Vegetation communities

The vegetated and unvegetated areas of the Capricornia Cays are classified as separate entities.

The disturbed and naturally unvegetated areas include three map units: sandy shores, lithified shores, and high human impact areas. Common types of human disturbance included the resorts and research stations infrastructure, camping grounds and lighthouses.

The vegetation includes 29 vegetation communities that are found either at the shore, on the beach ridges, and in the interior of islands. These communities have been mapped at 1:1000 - 1:2000 scale. The communities that are dominated by native species have been assigned to new regional ecosystems (12.2.18, 12.2.19, 12.2.20, 12.2.21) and a new subregion for Southeast Queensland {Southern Great Barrier Reef Subregion (12.12)} has been erected to accommodate the unique vegetation of the Capricornia Cays. Vegetation Communities Regional Ecosystems Disturbed & Naturally Unvegetated Areas A Sandy shores B Lithified shores C Disturbed areas (high human impact) D Shingle shores with sparse vegetation e.g. Canavalia rosea 12.2.14h E Steep eroded coral shores, e.g. Wilson Island Foreshore Beach Vegetation 1a *Cakile edentula ephemeral herbland 12.2.14f 1b Spinifex sericeus open-hummock grassland 12.2.14e 1c Sporobolus virginicus tussock grassland 12.2.14d 1d Seashore mixed herbland 12.2.14i 1e Very sparse herbland, mainly sand (North Reef) 12.2.14g

40 Note: It was only possible to separate these foreshore herblands where sites were visited. These communities can change composition and distribution after major coastal events e.g. cyclones. Frontal Beach Ridge Vegetation 2a Argusia argentea-Scaevola taccada open-scrub (littoral scrub)+/- Pandanus tectorius emergents (Masthead) 12.2.19a 2b Argusia argentea open-scrub with Casuarina equisetifolia subsp. incana emergents 12.2.19b Interior Ridges, Swales, Plains Vegetation 3a *Naturalised herblands to shrublands (on Tryon can be dominated by *Solanum americanum or *Euphorbia cyathophora, or *Eleusine indica or *Cenchrus echinatus or Commicarpus insularum; on Lady Elliot by *Euphorbia cyathophora and Canavalia rosea) 3d *Lantana camara closed-scrub (Lady Elliot) 3e Mown airstrip of *Cynodon dactylon, *Eragrostis tenuifolia (Lady Elliot) 3b Ephemeral wetlands 12.2.17c 3c Sesuvium portulacastrum herbland 12.2.17b 4 Mixed tussock grassland/herbland 12.2.17a 5a Wollastonia biflora +/- Abutilon albescens +/- Plumbago zeylanica herbland 12.2.18a 5b Plumbago zeylanica / Canavalia rosea / Lepturus repens herbland 12.2.18b 5c Abutilon albescens shrubland. Can include Caesalpinia bonduc (LM) 12.2.18c 6 Suriana maritima open- to closed-scrub 12.2.19c 7 Scaevola taccada open- to closed-scrub 12.2.19d 8a Casuarina equisetifolia subsp. incana woodland to low open-forest 12.2.14a 8b Casuarina equisetifolia subsp. incana woodland to low open-forest with mid dense shrub of Argusia argentea/ Scaevola taccada (Masthead) 12.2.14b 8c Casuarina equisetifolia subsp. incana open-forest to woodland with Pandanus tectorius subcanopy (Wilson) 12.2.14c 9 Pandanus tectorius low open-forest to low closed-forest 12.2.20a 10 Celtis paniculata +/- Pisonia grandis +/- Pandanus tectorius woodland to closed-forest 12.2.20b 11a Pisonia grandis low open-forest to low closed-forest 12.2.21a 11b Pisonia grandis closed-forest to low closed-forest, sometimes with Pandanus tectorius (Wilson, LM, NW), Celtis paniculata (NW) and Ficus spp. (LM) 12.2.21b 12a Ficus rubiginosa open-forest 12.2.21c 12b Ficus opposita shrubland (Fairfax) 12.2.21d 13 Casuarina equisetifolia subsp. incana planted woodland with mixture of naturalised and native species in the understory (Lady Elliot). Non-remnant Populations not extensive enough to map # Ximenia americana closed-scrub @ Cordia subcordata low closed-forest

Technical descriptions of the plant communities recorded on each of the Capricornia Cays have been produced by Neldner et al. (2012a). These descriptions are based on the 238 sites sampled on the islands. The pre-clearing distribution of communities on islands mined for guano from 1891 to 1900 are speculative, and based on historic accounts, old photographs and the remnant vegetation currently present.

The technical descriptions and A3 maps of the vegetation communities of each island overlying aerial photography at a scale of 1:1000-1:5000, are available online (Neldner et al. 2012a). The digital data in shapefile format are available from QGIS at http://dds.information.qld.gov.au/dds/.

41 5.2 Vegetation condition

Vegetation condition varies due to prevailing seasonal trends, forest age/health and pest damage. During our surveys most of the vegetation communities at Capricornia Cays were healthy and showing normal growth patterns. The uneven Pisonia forest canopies visible on aerial photographs can be explained by the presence of natural canopy gaps. Some large gaps were glades formed by fallen senescent trees. During winter 2007, the Central Queensland coast experienced dry conditions and cooler temperatures than the long-term seasonal averages. As a result, some 30– 50% of Pisonia foliage was showing yellowing of leaves and there was some leaf fall.

Some of the island’s frontal seashore forests were also undergoing changes due to erosion by high seas (e.g. Masthead Island). The species composition of seashore herblands is dynamic because of erosion and subsequent establishment of invasive species such as the Cakile edentula. Common seashore species recorded some 10 or 20 years ago, such as Spinifex sericeus and Ipomoea pes-caprae, are no longer common. Recruitment of Casuarina seedlings along the shores was relatively uncommon under the climatic conditions experienced at the time (Figure 6-3).

5.2.1 Condition of Pisonia grandis

Pisonia grandis stands at Wilson Island were affected by pest scale insect (Pulvinaria urbicola) outbreaks during 2006/07. A biological control program using the predatory ladybeetle Cryptolaemus montrouzieri was effective in controlling the scale insect and thereby preventing the loss of Pisonia grandis (Olds, 2006). During the 2007/2008 fieldwork, other cays were examined for evidence of scale insect (Pulvinaria urbicola) and hawkmoth larvae (Hippotion velox) defoliation. There was no sign of these two insect pests in the areas surveyed. Severe defoliation by hawkmoth caterpillar did however occur on Wilson Island in January 2008 and Masthead Island in June 2010 (Alan Hollis, pers. comm.). On Tryon Island, the high infestations of Pulvinaria urbicola scale of the early 1990s have disappeared and some remnant Pisonia patches were showing recovery post scale insect damage (Figure 5.1).

6 90 scale / cm midrib 80 5 % of leaves with scale 70 4 60 50 3 40 2 30 20

1 % leaves with scale 10

number of scale / cm midrib 0 0

Oct-93 Jun-94 Oct-94 Jun-95 Oct-95 Oct-96 Apr-97 Sep-97 May-98 May-99 May-00 May-01 Jun-02

Figure 5-1. Recorded levels of Pulvinaria urbicola scale on Pisonia grandis leaves at Tryon Island (Sourced from Kay et al., 2003). Large and small canopy gaps, resulting from tree falls, were common throughout the Pisonia forests, particularly in the old-growth and mature forests areas at North West and Masthead Islands. In some cases large old trees had fallen because they had become so top-heavy that they were not able to be supported by the existing root system. Some fallen trees were broken at the

42 base, whereas others remained intact but uprooted – revealing the shallow root structure of up to one metre deep.

Most fallen Pisonia trees (16–20 m tall) re-sprout vegetatively from the main trunk and/or by the main branches layering, hence there is frequently a large number of small diameter stems present in these stands (Figure 5-2). The episodic build-up of forest structure and break-down phases in Pisonia forests are referred to as a “fluctuating climax” (Specht & Specht 1999, Batianoff & Naylor 2007)). The success of vegetative reproduction in the Pisonia forest is likely to lead to a narrow genetic pool, particularly on the older cays such as on North West Island.

40 35 30 25 20 15 10 No. individualsNo. 5 0

0-20 21-40 41-60 61-80 81-100 101-120121-140141-160161-180181-200201-220221-240241-260261-280281-300301-320321-340 Diameter (cm)

Figure 5-2. Diameter classes (20cm) of old-growth Pisonia grandis at North West Island: 2007 (n=195) Gap formation allows sunlight to reach the ground and shrubs and herbs to establish and form ‘glades’ within the Pisonia forest. The glades are most frequently colonised by native species such as Abutilon albescens (shrub) and Wollastonia biflora (sprawling herb). Other native species occurring in the glades include Achyranthes aspera, Thuarea involuta, Ficus opposita and Pipturus argenteus. Weeds such as Eleusine indica, Solanum americanum, Amaranthus viridis and Passiflora suberosa also take advantage of the glades. The size of the glades within the forest vary from approximately 220-1200m2. New growth of small Pisonia trees slowly encroaches on the glades and replaces the Abutilon-Wollastonia shrubland.

At North West Island and other islands, the Pisonia forest on the edges of each community appear to be expanding vegetatively (stem layering) into undeveloped seashore soils currently occupied by Argusia-Scaevola open-scrub and/or Casuarina woodland. This spread is facilitated by the ‘new’ Pisonia plants staying attached to the parent plants for relatively long periods, during which time the soil fertility levels improve. Pisonia forests appear to exhibit faster growth along the SE shorelines compared to other shorelines because of the more open habitat and reduced competition from other trees.

5.2.2 Condition of Casuarina equisetifolia

Interpretation of the diameter and height dimensions of Casuarina equisetifolia trees may aid in the interpretation of accretion and erosion patterns of the islands. Casuarina stands most often establish during seashore accreting periods and grow as part of the strand vegetation. The diameter classes at North West and Wreck Islands indicate poor recruitment in recent times. The size and condition of Casuarina woodlands will deteriorate if older trees die without being replaced (Figure 5-3).

43 All Casuarina at Northwest Island

40 30 20 10 0 No. individualsNo.

1-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 Diameter class (cm)

All Casuarina at Wreck Island

30 20 10 0 No. individualsNo. 1-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 Diameter class (cm)

Figure 5-3. Diameter classes at 30 cm height of Casuarina equisetifolia at North West Island and Wreck Island.

6 Soils properties

6.1 Overview The complexity of island types and the current and historic land use in the Capricornia section of the Great Barrier Reef create a variety of soil conditions. Land uses affecting soils in the Capricornia section include guano and phosphate rock mining (Daly & Griggs, 2006) and resort construction. The removal of 1m of topsoil from Lady Elliot Island extensively altered the soils on this island. Islands that have seen extensive human-induced changes to soil conditions include the islands that have been mined for guano and phosphate rock (Lady Elliot Island, Tryon Island, North West Island) and those with resorts and research stations (Heron Island, Lady Elliot Island, Wilson Island and One Tree Island).

Soils of the Capricornia Cays range from the unweathered beach sands to the fertile A horizon sandy soils. Larger cays, such North West Island and Masthead Island, that have an interior of old- growth Pisonia grandis have pockets of peaty humus up to 25 cm deep with pH levels as low as 4.5 (Batianoff 1999a). A “mor” or raw humus layer within Pisonia grandis communities has been described by Fosberg (1954).

6.2 Soil classification

The parent material of the low coral cays across the Pacific is essentially homologous, being derived from detritus of marine organisms such as coral, calcareous algae and other invertebrates. Coral cay substrates are calcareous due to their high calcium carbonate mineralogy, with a high proportion of medium sand textures. The undeveloped soils are alkaline. As the soils develop and

44 accumulate organic matter the pH changes from alkaline to neutral to acidic. Coral cay soils usually have little to no profile development beyond some accumulation of organic matter in the A- horizon. The absence of a B-horizon indicates recent development and/or a lack of weathering from the original marine deposits.

Due to the unique character of reef substrates, the calcareous soils of Pacific low atolls have most often been referred to as a ‘Jemo’ series frequently containing formations of phosphate rock (Fosberg, 1954). Coral island soils have also been called ‘Entisols’ (Morrison 1990) and ‘Calcarenite Proposols’ (Hearty and Vacher 1994). Both terms refer to their recent development. Woodroffe and Morrison (2001) have described them as weakly developed Regosols or Lithosols within the Typic Topopsamments. According to Morrison (1990), current soil taxonomy systems do not adequately describe the soils of coral cays.

The chemical and physical characteristics of the Capricornia Cays soils best align with the shelly calcarosols of the CSIRO compendium of Australian soils (McKenzie et al., 2004). According to Batianoff et al. (2008b) the Australian coral cay group of soils are ‘inceptic coral calcarosols’. This name refers to soils that are recent, organic, dominated by calcium carbonate derived from coral reef ecosystems and within the order of calcarosols. Essentially, inceptic coral calcarosols are neutral to strongly alkaline, lacking a ‘B’ horizon, with loose surface soils, no consolidation of particles and the parent material derived from marine organisms.

6.2.1 Seashore soils

Soils sampled from the sandy beaches, ephemeral herblands, Sporobolus virginicus and Spinifex sericeus grasslands, and seashore Argusia argentea and Casuarina equisetifolia stands were all classified as seashore soils. These soils are almost wholly biogenically-derived. That is, the sediments consist of marine-derived organic compounds from skeletons, corals, calcareous algae, molluscs, forams and bird excreta. Seashore soils are unstructured white to grey in colour, calcareous and have a grain size ranging from very fine to coarse – the latter being most common. Some larger coral fragments are present. They have a low nutrient content compared to beach ridge and interior soils. Their chemical properties are presented in Table 6-1Error! Reference source not found. and Figures 6-1 to 6-5. They have a depth of 0-20cm.

6.2.2 Beach ridge soils

The beach ridge communities consisted of Argusia argentea, Suriana maritima and Casuarina equisetifolia. The beach ridge soils are freely drained with an unconsolidated surface covered with some plant litter. The physical properties of the interior beach ridge soils were very similar to the seashore soils. The beach ridge surface soils were darker in colour (grey to pale brown) with deeper ‘A’ horizons (40–60 cm) than the seashore soils. Nutrient levels are higher in the beach ridge soils than the seashore soils (Table 6-1 and Figure 6-1 to 6-5).

6.2.3 Interior plains soils

The interior plains communities of the Capricornia Cays included the herblands, woodlands, scrubs and Pisonia stands. The interior soils are freely drained with an unconsolidated surface covered with moderate to high plant litter material. The physical properties are similar to the beach ridge soils. The interior soils are however, more weathered with finer sand grains and higher organic matter, and therefore darker in colour (pale brown to dark grey). The interior soils had the deepest ‘A’ horizons (60-110 cm) of all the cay soils. Nutrients levels are high compared to the other seashore soils (Table 6-1 and Figure 6-1 to 6-5).

45 6.3 Chemical properties

A comparison of chemical properties of soils, at various depths, for the major landforms is presented in Table 6-1. Comparisons of soil pH (pH), organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (TN), phosphorous (Colwell-P), calcium (Ca) and potassium (K) are presented for each landform and its vegetation community in Figures 6-1 to 6-5, respectively. In general the soil chemical properties of Capricornia Cays were similar to the patterns recorded on tropical coral cays at Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve (Batianoff et al., 2008b). For example, the nutrient levels of seashore/beach ridge soils were much lower than those of the interior soils. The average values of organic carbon, total nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium for all landscapes in the Capricornia Cays are however, well below the levels recorded at Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve (Batianoff et al., 2008b). Table 6-1. Comparison of soil properties at depth for different habitats.

Ca Depth EC TN OC Colwell-P K (cmol Habitat pH 2 (cmol (+) (cm) (dS/m ) (wt%) (wt%) (mg/kg) (+) /kg) /kg) Unvegetated beaches 0-20 9.02 0.18 0.13 1.98 79.71 11.76 0.06 Vegetated 0-20 9.25 0.14 0.05 2.05 66.47 10.94 1.20 seashores C-horizon 9.44 0.10 0.04 0.90 59.38 11.72 2.03 0-20 8.54 0.31 0.23 3.25 247.91 10.65 0.09 Beach 20-40 8.96 0.18 0.09 2.61 95.47 9.45 0.03 ridges soils 40-60 9.22 0.10 0.07 2.25 76.33 9.52 0.02 C-horizon 9.46 0.06 0.02 2.42 65.24 8.56 0.01 0-20 7.98 0.37 0.60 3.77 541.49 14.17 0.19 20-40 8.27 0.25 0.22 4.37 323.23 10.04 0.10 Interior 40-60 8.42 0.25 0.22 3.70 291.00 9.96 0.08 plains 60-80 8.54 0.23 0.14 4.17 261.09 9.64 0.06 80-100 8.82 0.26 0.13 3.12 161.26 9.05 0.02 C-horizon 8.05 0.84 0.13 3.24 55.00 12.66 0.06 0-20 7.86 0.36 0.55 3.94 639.95 16.68 0.16 Disturbed 20-40 7.92 0.41 0.40 3.79 481.85 10.68 0.13 interior 40-60 8.01 0.43 0.72 3.20 545.25 9.92 0.08 plains soils C-horizon 8.96 0.08 0.07 2.23 103.64 7.64 0 pH = soil pH, OC = organic carbon, TN = total nitrogen, Colwell-P = phosphorous, Ca = calcium, and K = potassium

6.3.1 Soil pH

The seashore and beach ridge surface soils were the most alkaline of all samples (Table 6-1). The least alkaline soils were the ex-Pisonia herbland areas on Tryon Island (pH 7.73), which are now covered by Solanum americanum, Euphorbia cyathophora and Cenchrus echinatus. Figure 6-1 and Table 6-1 indicate that seashore/beach ridge soil group pH values are generally higher than the interior soils.

46 10 9 8 7 6 Celtis Beach Glades Argusia Casuarina Rainforest Casuarina woodlands slands Ex-Pisonia Windy Pisonia Young Pisonia Herblands/gras Argusia scrubs Mature Pisonia Figure 6-1. Average pH of surface soils (0–20 cm) of different communities and habitats.

Unvegetated beach Interior plains Vegetated seashore Disturbed interior plains Beach ridges

6.3.2 Organic Carbon

All of the surface soils had organic carbon concentrations between 0.9 and 4.4%. The highest values were recorded from the interior lowland areas with lower values from beach the seashore and the beach ridge soils (Figure 7-2).

5 4 3 2 1 0 Celtis Beach Glades Argusia Casuarina Rainforest Casuarina woodlands slands Ex-Pisonia Windy Pisonia Young Pisonia Argusia scrubs Herblands/gras Mature Pisonia Figure 6-2. Mean organic carbon values (% by weight) of surface soils (0–20 cm) of different communities

Unvegetated beach Interior plains Vegetated seashore Disturbed interior plains Beach ridges

6.3.3 Total Nitrogen

Total nitrogen was generally highest for the interior communities and highest under mature Pisonia closed-forest (Figure 6-3).

47

1.00 0.75 0.50 0.25 0.00 Celtis Beach Glades Argusia Rainforest Casuarina Casuarina woodlands slands Ex-Pisonia Windy Pisonia Young Pisonia Mature Pisonia Herblands/gras Argusia scrubs Figure 6-3. Mean total nitrogen values (% by weight) of surface soils (0–20 cm) of different communities

Unvegetated beach Interior plains Vegetated seashore Disturbed interior plains Beach ridges

6.3.4 Phosphorus

Mean phosphorus concentrations are given in Figure 6-4. The phosphorus levels are relatively high for all forested interior soils. The values for the ex-Pisonia soils on Tryon Island are high, which could be phosphorus released from the dead Pisonia grandis trees. In comparison the areas of glades, newly established P. grandis and Celtis paniculata contain low levels of phosphorus. These areas also have few nesting seabirds compared to mature P. grandis forests and Argusia argentea scrubs.

900 750 600 450 300 150 0 Celtis Beach Glades Argusia Casuarina Rainforest Casuarina woodlands slands Ex-Pisonia Windy Pisonia Young Pisonia Argusia scrubs Herblands/gras Mature Pisonia Figure 6-4. Mean phosphorous (Colwell-P) values (mg/kg) of surface soils (0–20 cm) of different communities

Unvegetated beach Interior plains Vegetated seashore Disturbed interior plains Beach ridges

6.3.5 Potassium

The potassium values for similar habitats were variable. For example, the values in Casuarina equisetifolia varied by up to 11% across different sites. In general the highest potassium levels were recorded in the mature Pisonia forest. These communities also had the highest number of nesting seabirds.

48

0.30 0.25 0.20 0.15 0.10 0.05 0.00 Celtis Beach Glades Argusia Rainforest Casuarina Casuarina woodlands lands Ex-Pisonia Windy Pisonia Young Pisonia Mature Pisonia Argusia scrubs Herblands/grass Figure 6-5. Mean potassium values (cmol (+)/kg) of surface soils (0–20 cm) of different communities

Unvegetated beach Interior plains Vegetated seashore Disturbed interior plains Beach ridges

6.4 Pisonia dieback at Tryon Island

Some soils on the Capricornia Cays have been extensively disturbed by natural and anthropogenic activities. Tryon Island lost about 5 ha of Pisonia grandis rainforest cover from 1991-2001 as a result of scale insect attack. Much of this area has been replanted with Pisonia but weeds such as *Solanum americanum, *Euphorbia cyathophora and *Cenchrus echinatus were common in some areas at the time of this survey.

At the time of this survey, the surface soils are predominantly fine to very fine textured, with no leaf litter or coral fragments, and a high degree of decomposition resulting in a dark brown soil colour. As depth increases, soil colour lightens to light – medium brown with a higher coarse grain component recorded at 40–60 cm in depth. Pink coloured sand was reached at 80 cm indicating the ‘C-horizon’. Generally, higher levels of organic carbon, total nitrogen, available phosphorus and potassium were recorded for the ex-Pisonia areas than the mature/old-growth Pisonia areas. Nutrient levels were similar throughout the entire 80 cm soil profile.

In comparison, the areas formerly covered by Pisonia vegetation at SW Coringa Islet at Coringa- Herald National Nature Reserve now feature native herbs and shrubs species such as Ipomoea macrantha, Abutilon albescens and Achyranthes aspera (Batianoff et al., 2008b). The pH and nutrient levels at various depths are provided in figure 6-6 for soils on Tryon Island and Coringa- Herald National Nature Reserve for areas in which Pisonia dieback had occurred. Soil nutrient levels were generally higher at Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve (Batianoff et al., 2010b) than at Tryon Island. The soils in ex-Pisonia areas at SW Coringa and Tryon had lower levels of all nutrients than the healthy mature/old-growth forests.

49 Table 6-2. Soil chemical properties on Tryon Island and Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve in areas with Pisonia grandis cover (Pis) and those that have lost their Pisonia cover (Ex).

TN OC Colwell-P Ca K pH (Wt%) (Wt%) (mg/kg) (cmol(+)/kg) (cmol(+)/kg) Depth Pis. Ex Pis. Ex Pis. Ex Pis. Ex Pis. Ex Pis. Ex Tryon Island 0-20cm 7.95 7.82 0.32 0.50 3.27 4.20 248 790 8.88 11.92 0.06 0.19 20-40cm 7.93 7.78 0.11 0.60 3.27 4.81 206 660 8.06 12.38 0.08 0.22 40-60cm 8.03 7.83 0.22 0.44 3.07 3.88 169 847 7.98 11.56 0.04 0.13 60-80cm 8.69 7.76 0.08 0.51 2.26 3.89 114 719 7.56 10.86 0.01 0.17 80-100cm 9.47 n/a 0.04 n/a 2.07 n/a 67 n/a 7.99 n/a 0.00 n/a 100+cm n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve 0-20cm 7.50 8.16 1.55 1.14 7.99 7.42 1051 964 27.31 20.69 1.92 0.44 20-40cm 7.75 8.76 1.19 0.39 6.11 3.41 994 630 24.79 12.99 1.04 0.11 40-60cm 7.89 8.99 0.53 0.37 3.78 2.94 875 538 19.29 12.22 0.57 0.08 60-80cm 8.52 n/a 0.20 n/a 2.78 n/a 488 n/a 14.28 n/a 0.15 n/a 80-100cm 8.06 n/a 0.40 n/a 3.16 n/a 822 n/a 20.64 n/a 0.65 n/a 100+cm 8.54 n/a 0.01 n/a 2.98 n/a 397 n/a 13.95 n/a 0.25 n/a

TRYON ISLAND CHNNR

OC (wt%) OC (wt%) 0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10

0-20cm 0-20cm

20-40cm 20-40cm

40-60cm 40-60cm

60-80cm 60-80cm

80-100cm 80-100cm

100+cm 100+cm

TN (wt%) TN (wt%) 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0

0-20cm 0-20cm

20-40cm 20-40cm

40-60cm 40-60cm

60-80cm 60-80cm

80-100cm 80-100cm

100+cm 100+cm

50 Colwell-P (mg/kg) Colwell-P (mg/kg) 0 500 1000 1500 0 500 1000 1500

0-20cm 0-20cm

20-40cm 20-40cm

40-60cm 40-60cm

60-80cm 60-80cm

80-100cm 80-100cm

100+cm 100+cm

K (cmol(+)/kg) K (cmol(+)/kg) 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0

0-20cm 0-20cm

20-40cm 20-40cm

40-60cm 40-60cm

60-80cm 60-80cm

80-100cm 80-100cm

100+cm 100+cm

Figure 6-6. Soil chemical properties in areas of old-growth Pisonia (solid bars) and herblands previously forested by Pisonia (hatched) on Tryon Island and Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve (CHNNR).

6.5 Natural glades within Pisonia stands

Natural tree falls within forested areas create “glades” (refer section 5.2.1). These have different soil chemistry compared to intact forested areas. A comparison of soils from natural glades was made with mature/old-growth Pisonia grandis soils from North West and Masthead Islands (Table 6-3). Old-growth and glade areas at Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve are also included in the comparison.

The depth of soil is less in glade areas than forested areas. Soil in forested areas was recorded beyond 100 cm in depth, whereas in the glades soils reached a maximum depth of 80 cm. Soil pH values at the Capricornia Cays and Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve are more alkaline in glades than forests. The levels of all key nutrients are lower in glades than in the mature/old- growth forests.

51 Table 6-3. Comparison of soil chemical properties at depth for all Pisonia communities (Pis) and glades in Pisonia communities (G)

pH TN OC Colwell-P Ca K (Wt%) (Wt%) (mg/kg) (cmol(+)/kg) (cmol(+)/kg) Depth Pis G Pis G Pis G Pis G Pis G Pis G All Capricornia Cays 0-20cm 8.0 8.6 0.6 0.2 3.7 3.2 579 284 14.0 11.8 0.2 0.1 20-40cm 8.4 8.7 0.3 0.2 3.7 4.1 406 197 11.5 11.3 0.2 0.1 40-60cm 8.4 8.7 0.3 0.2 3.5 3.7 359 192 11.1 12.1 0.1 0.1 60-80cm 8.6 9.1 0.2 0.1 3.5 4.5 298 108 10.9 10.0 0.1 0.0 80-100cm 8.5 n/a 0.1 n/a 3.2 n/a 143 n/a 10.6 n/a 0.1 n/a 100+cm 8.1 n/a 0.1 n/a 3.2 n/a 55 n/a 12.7 n/a 0.1 n/a NE Herald glades and SE Magdelaine mature/old-growth Pisonia at CHNNR 0-20cm 7.50 8.4 1.55 0.2 7.99 3.1 1051 594 27.31 13.4 1.92 0.08 20-40cm 7.75 8.4 1.19 0.2 6.11 2.8 994 608 24.79 13.3 1.04 0.06 40-60cm 7.89 8.9 0.53 0.1 3.78 2.7 875 225 19.29 13.0 0.57 0.04 60-80cm 8.52 n/a 0.20 n/a 2.78 n/a 488 n/a 14.28 n/a 0.15 n/a 80-100cm 8.06 n/a 0.40 n/a 3.16 n/a 822 n/a 20.64 n/a 0.65 n/a 100+cm 8.54 n/a 0.01 n/a 2.98 n/a 397 n/a 13.95 n/a 0.25 n/a

52 TRYON ISLAND CHNNR

OC (wt%) OC (wt%) 0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10 0-20cm 0-20cm 20-40cm 20-40cm 40-60cm 40-60cm

60-80cm 60-80cm

80-100cm 80-100cm

100+cm 100+cm

TN (wt%) 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 TN (wt%) 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0-20cm 0-20cm 20-40cm 20-40cm 40-60cm 40-60cm 60-80cm 60-80cm

80-100cm 80-100cm

100+cm 100+cm

Colwell-P (mg/kg) 0 500 1000 1500 Colwell-P (mg/kg) 0 500 1000 1500 0-20cm 0-20cm 20-40cm 20-40cm 40-60cm 40-60cm 60-80cm 60-80cm 80-100cm 80-100cm

100+cm 100+cm

K (cmol(+)/kg) K (cmol(+)/kg) 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0-20cm 0-20cm 20-40cm 20-40cm 40-60cm 40-60cm

60-80cm 60-80cm

80-100cm 80-100cm

100+cm 100+cm

Figure 6-7. Comparison of soil chemical properties in old-growth Pisonia (solid bars) and ex-Pisonia herblands (hatched bars) on Tryon Island & Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve (CHNNR).

6.6 Soil condition overview

The soil nutrient levels of the Capricornia Cays are almost half the values of those found at Coringa-Herald Cays (Batianoff et al. 2010b). Many authors have described atoll soils (including coral cays) as having a low nutrient status. Empirically, P and N and occasionally K were recorded

53 in this study at very high levels. However, pH values and calcium carbonate bonding particularly with P may produce poor nutrient availability (Morrison, 1990). According to Ashford and Allaway (1982), the mycorrhizal association of Pisonia grandis assists in the uptake of nutrients by plant roots.

The physical and chemical characters of coral cay soils are determined by the origin of the parent material, the physical environment (wind, waves, aerosols), and the biological interactions (e.g. vegetation – nesting seabirds and turtles) taking place within the physical environment. The rate of development of inceptic coral calcarosols is dependent on the amount of organic matter available. Organic content is essential for calcareous soils to assist in nutrient cycling, nutrient retention and water retention (Morrison, 1990). Rodgers (1994) describes deposition of additional nutrients to soils from the atmosphere (aerosols), from the sea (dissolved nutrients) and from the marine biosphere (e.g. bird guano, fish).

The terrestrial flora of cays concentrate nutrients in their woody tissues, especially in the growing tips, fruit and wood (Rodgers, 1994). The higher nutrient values in the interior soils reflects the higher biomass of woody plant tissues (Rodgers, 1994). Following the death of plants, such as Pisonia grandis, nutrients are mobilised during the decomposition of woody tissues and plant litter. Humus acts as a nutrient-retaining and dispersing agent (Rodgers, 1994). After release, these nutrients may enter the soil, and/or be leached into the freshwater table.

The transfer of nutrients from the litter of surface soil by the process of bioturbation by wedge- tailed shearwaters Puffinus pacificus (Bancroft et al., 2005) may exacerbate the process of decomposition, and may enrich the ‘A’ horizon. This process of soil mixing assists in the capture of nutrients from the marine ecosystems as aerosols, marine debris, guano and plant litter. However, for bioturbation to occur the habitats need to be suitable for wedge-tailed shearwaters – that is, the soils must be well-compacted with a high proportion of fine roots to stabilise burrows. This represents a symbiotic relationship; the trees provide a suitable habitat for birds, and the birds assist in soil development increasing the availability of nutrients and thereby allowing a larger biomass to be obtained.

54 PART C. Conservation management

7 Current threats to vegetation

7.1 Pulvinaria urbicola

Since 1993, outbreaks of the scale insect Pulvinaria urbicola have been significantly affecting the health of Pisonia forests on Australian and other islands throughout the species’ global range. Although outbreaks may be due to natural fluctuations in the number of scale insects and their natural enemies, the cause of outbreak events is yet to be fully understood. Ants, in some cases introduced ants, exacerbate all outbreaks (O’Neill et al., 1997; Olds et al., in prep.). From 1993 to 2000, over 90% of the Pisonia forest at Tryon Island within the Capricornia Cays National Park was destroyed by scale insect. Significant changes to SW Coringa Islet’s Pisonia grandis vegetation have resulted from infestations by scale insects.

7.2 Climate variability

The key climate variability elements that influence wildlife include altered rainfall patterns, increased ambient temperatures, increased variation in wind and cyclonic activities and increased atmospheric CO2. Changes to oceanic conditions such as rises in sea level, sea surface temperatures and ocean acidification are also critical as the terrestrial ecology of coral cays is directly linked with marine ecosystems. Coral reefs are likely to be transformed by the mid to the late century with lower density of both soft and hard corals and a dominance of fleshy micro algae and herbivorous fishes (Anthony and Marshal 2009). Hobday et al. (2006) rank the eastern central marine domain as the most vulnerable marine domain in Australia, and Williams et al. (2012) state that the greatest changes to coral reefs are likely to be in the inshore and southern Great Barrier Reef.

Summer temperatures at the Capricornia Cays have increased for both the minimum (+0.6ºC, R2=0.57) and maximum (+1.0ºC, R2=0.57) temperatures since 1958 (Table 2-3). The duration of droughts has increased from 3–4 years (1940–1991) to 3–7 years (1992–2007). The increased temperature and duration of droughts threaten the current vegetation and other natural values of the Capricornia Cays. As the study area represents the southern-most coral cays in Australia, distributional shifts of coral-cay specific species from tropical areas are most likely to occur (Turner and Batianoff, 2007). The new arrivals in time may change the character of the region. Changes to seabird diversity and populations, coral reef quality, and the climate experienced at the Capricornia Cays will affect vegetation patterns and conditions.

Under elevated CO2 concentrations, vegetation will have improved water use efficiency by reducing stomatal conductance, known as the ‘CO2-fertilisation effect’ (Hughes, 2003; Lovejoy & Hannah, 2005; Turner & Batianoff, 2007). The specific CO2-fertilisation effect on plants growing on coral cays, such as the Capricornia Cays is not known. However, the benefits of elevated CO2 on plant growth will depend on water and nutrient availability (Korner et al., 2006). According to

Hughes (2003), under elevated CO2 conditions, the competitive regime between C3 and C4 species may give an advantage to woody shrubs under dry conditions.

The major impact of climate variability on the vegetation of the Capricornia Cays may arise from the unknown consequences of trophic level interactions such as the combined effects of insect

55 damage, loss of soil nutrients, loss of seabird input, and diminishing levels of freshwater lenses. Loss of vegetation has been reported to coincide with declines in breeding seabird numbers on the Sudbury and Gannet Cays in the Great Barrier Reef (Turner & Batianoff, 2007). Pisonia grandis is dependent on the input of nutrients by seabirds, and presence of freshwater lenses. Its future survival may depend on the projected benefits of the ‘CO2-fertilisation effect’ on one hand, and the potential diminishing quantity of nutrients and freshwater on the other. As Pisonia and Argusia provide the key breeding habitats for arboreal-breeding seabirds, the loss of Pisonia forest may trigger tropical seabird abandonment of northern breeding habitats. That is, some seabirds may migrate south in search of new breeding opportunities (Hughes 2003).

7.3 Plant resilience and vegetation changes

Some stress-tolerant plants survive dry periods by using water stored in plant tissues and/or perennial roots. For example, Tribulus cistoides and Boerhavia spp. use large taproots as storage organs and/or perennial propagules, and Portulaca oleracea has fleshy stems and leaves that store water. During drought conditions, ruderal or short-lived species (e.g. the grasses and Abutilon albescens), which produce large amounts of seed, survive in the soil seed bank. A higher incidence of severe droughts may favour herbaceous vegetation. Adaptations of rainforest species (e.g. Pisonia grandis) to dry conditions include the senescence (loss of leaves), and developing deeper roots to colonise central areas with better access to freshwater lenses. On the other hand, smaller trees such as Cordia subcordata survive during prolonged dry periods by loss of its main stems, only to recover during wet conditions from basal re-sprouting. Under drought conditions freshwater lenses become brackish and decrease, creating greater moisture stress for woody island plant life (Stoddart & Walsh, 1992; Turner & Batianoff, 2007). Dry periods may facilitate the replacement of rainforest species such as P. grandis by short-lived shrubs and/or short-lived herbaceous plants and grasses (Turner & Batianoff, 2007).

Pisonia grandis expands its local populations during wet seasons through vegetative growth. The stem layering by P. grandis is considered as a competitive survival strategy that assists the species to cope in a highly variable climate. It is also postulated that with increased moisture and longer “wet” seasons, P. grandis may be well adapted to colonising new islands within the Capricornia Cays. Drifting seeds and sprouting plants favoured by wetter conditions in the supra- littoral zone may re-colonise newly deposited sands. However, their survival depends on the intensity of disturbance caused by nesting turtles and grazing crabs (Batianoff et al., 1993). Plant and other wildlife species richness may increase under wetter conditions because conditions are more conducive to the establishment/survival of newly arrived species.

7.4 Exotic plant species

Objectives for the management of the Capricornia Cays National Park and National Park (Scientific) are to conserve natural habitats and wildlife, whilst not limiting use for recreation and tourism (QPWS, 2000). Recognising key areas on which to concentrate conservation management efforts is a priority in maintaining natural values at the Capricornia Cays. Determining the status of taxa is a critical aspect of plant conservation. The construction of an accurate regional checklist provides data for management of weeds. The flora of the Capricornia Cays currently includes 66% exotic species, 98% of which are infrequent or rare – making their management more achievable.

The abundance of exotic species on certain islands poses a threat to other islands. Some key weed species have been identified, predominantly from high-use, highly disturbance islands such as Lady Elliot Island. These species (Table 7-1) would be best eradicated and/or contained so as

56 not to compromise native species diversity on other islands within the Capricornia Cays group. Species declared under the Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Regulation 2003 include one Class 3 weed (*Lantana camara) and two Class 2 weeds (*Opuntia stricta and *Bryophyllum delagoense). Several species are part of the 200 most invasive naturalised species of South East Queensland (Batianoff & Butler, 2002). Efforts to eradicate key weed species at Heron Island and One tree Island have shown that vigilance and a proactive approach to conserving native biodiversity pays off. Table 7-1. Comments on the major naturalised species in the Capricornia Cays

Family, taxa, common name LF Weediness No. Management islands recommendations AGAVACEAE *Agave americana S H/EW 1 Eradicate with high priority (century plant) *Agave sisalana S H/EW 1 Eradicate (sisal hemp) APOCYNACEAE *Catharanthus rosea H H/EW 1 Control, seed dispersed by (periwinkle) ants ASTERACEAE *Calyptocarpus vialis aH m/ew 1 Control (creeping cinderella weed) BRASSICACEAE *Cakile edentula aH m/ew 13 Control, ranked 141 (American sea rocket) CACTACEAE *Hylocereus undatus H H/EW 1 Eradicate (moonlight cactus) *Opuntia stricta S H/EW 2 Eradicate, C2 declared weed (common prickly pear) CAESALPINIACEAE *Senna pendula var. glabrata ST m/ew 1 Control, ranked 45 (Easter cassia) COMMELINACEAE *Tradescantia spp. H m/ew 1 Control, ranked 87 (wandering Jews) CONVOLVULACEAE *Ipomoea cairica V m/ew 2 Control, ranked 28 (coastal morning glory) *Ipomoea indica V m/ew 2 Control, ranked 40 (purple morning glory) CRASSULACEAE *Bryophyllum delagoense H H/EW 1 Eradicate – C2 declared (mother-of-millions) weed, ranked 3 *Bryophyllum pinnatum H m/ew 1 Control – ranked 47 (resurrection plant)

57 Family, taxa, common name LF Weediness No. Management islands recommendations DRACAENACEAE *Sansevieria trifasciata H m/ew 1 Control, ranked 195 (mother-in-law's tongue) EUPHORBIACEAE *Euphorbia cyathophora aH H/EW 3 Control, ranked 180 (dwarf poinsettia) LAMIACEAE *Plectranthus amboinicus H m/ew 1 Control (soup mint) PASSIFLORACEAE *Passiflora suberosa V m/ew 2 Control, ranked 37 (cork passionflower) POACEAE *Cenchrus echinatus aH ew 9 Control, nuisance weed, (Mossman river grass) ranked 178 *Eleusine indica aH ew 7 Control, ranked 112 (crowsfoot grass) *Megathyrsus maximus H H/EW 3 Control, ranked 20 (guinea grass) *Stenotaphrum secundatum H m/ew 2 Control, ranked 187 (buffalo grass) *Urochloa subquadripara H m/ew 2 Control (green summer grass) SOLANACEAE *Capsicum frutescens H m/ew 1 Control (bird's eye chilli) VERBENACEAE *Lantana camara S H/EW 1 Eradicate - Ranked 1, C3 (lantana) declared

Weediness: H/EW = high impact invasive environmental weed; m/ew = moderate impact invasive environmental weed

Ranking as in Batianoff & Butler, 2002; C2 and C3 are Class 2 and Class 3 pests listed under the Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Regulation 2003.

58 Concluding overview

1. Vegetation mapping has been completed for fifteen islands. This is an invaluable resource for regional conservation planning and management. 2. The vegetation maps have subsequently been used to develop regional ecosystem mapping and comprehensive technical descriptions for the region. 3. An accurate floristic inventory was made for each island. These inventories provide baseline data for monitoring floristic changes, and the rate of changes due to natural and/or human disturbances on each island. 4. The soil analyses for the Capricornia Cays are difficult to interpret at a regional level due to lack of data from other coral cays. Most nutrient levels are well below those found for the Coringa-Herald Cays. 5. Continued containment and eradication of environmental weeds will help safeguard natural values of native vegetation and wildlife (Table 7-1) 6. Awareness of the environmental values would be enhanced by providing an identification guide of wildlife recorded at Capricornia Cays. 7. The unique values of the Capricornia Cays should continue to be promoted. Linkages between coastal scientists, resort operators and the general public should be pursued to improve the understanding of the unique biodiversity and promote quarantine practices. 8. Active plant conservation management should continue. This includes maintenance/ revegetation of degraded areas, weedy areas and camping grounds with suitable indigenous species. Pisonia grandis readily drop branches so should not be used in replantings near camping grounds. Suitable trees for providing shade near campsites include Ficus rubiginosa, Celtis paniculata, and Cordia subcordata.

59 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of QPWS officers for: safe transportation on QPWS Marine Vessels ‘Kerra-Lyn’ and the ‘Ranella’; good company; and sharing local coral cay knowledge. In particular, Alan Hollis, Lee Case, Charles Coleman and Dean Boswell are acknowledged. Rhonda Melzer, Bruce Knuckey, Andrew McDougall and other QPWS staff are acknowledged for their input to organising and supporting the project.

We thank management staff of Queensland Herbarium, and in particular Gordon Guymer, for encouragement and advice. We are grateful to David Halford for his professional field assistance. Jack Kelley and Jiaorong Li expertly rectified the aerial photographs, produced the vegetation maps and derived statistics. Nigel Fechner, Paul Forster, Bryan Simon, and Tony Bean are acknowledged for botanical assistance. Joy Brushe provided good company and shared local botanical knowledge.

Thanks to Rhonda Melzer and Andrew McDougall for their helpful editorial comments, and Will Smith for cover design and Rosemary Niehus for formatting the manuscript.

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65 APPENDICES

Appendix A. Inventory checklist of the Capricornia Cays flora: 2007–08 ...... 67 Appendix B. Area of vegetation communities present on the Capricornia Cays: 2007–08 ...... 73 Appendix C. Native plant species suitable for revegetation / regeneration and landscaping at the Capricornia Cays ...... 75 Appendix D. Metadata for the mapping of the vegetation communities of the Capricornia Cays, Southeast Queensland ...... 78

66 Appendix A. Inventory checklist of the Capricornia Cays flora: 2007–08

Coral Cay Species Name Family LF 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Total Abutilon albescens Malvaceae S F F I I I I I A X I A A A A 14 *Acetosa vesicaria Polygonaceae aH R 1 Achyranthes aspera Amaranthaceae aH I I I I I R I I F X I I F I F 15 *Agave americana Agavaceae S I 1 *Agave attenuata Agavaceae S R 1 *Agave sisalana Agavaceae S I 1 *Ageratum conyzoides Asteraceae aH I 1 *Aloe arborescens Asphodelaceae S I 1 *Aloe parvibracteata Asphodelaceae S I 1 *Alternanthera pungens Amaranthaceae aH F 1 *Amaranthus blitum Amaranthaceae aH R 1 *Amaranthus viridis Amaranthaceae aH I I I I I/F 5 #Araucaria cunninghamii var. Araucariaceae T R 1 cunninghamii *Argemone ochroleuca subsp. Papaveraceae aH I R X R R I 6 ochroleuca Argusia argentea Boraginaceae ST F A F I A F F A A X F F I F A 15 *Bidens pilosa Asteraceae aH R I R X I R F F I 9 Boerhavia albiflora var. heronensis Nyctaginaceae H I I I I I I I F F I I A I A 14 Boerhavia sp. (Bargara L. Pedley Nyctaginaceae H I 1 5382) *Brassica napus Brassicaceae aH R 1 *Bryophyllum delagoense Crassulaceae H F 1 *Bryophyllum pinnatum Crassulaceae H F 1 Caesalpinia bonduc Caesalpiniaceae S R F R R 4 *Cakile edentula Brassicaceae aH F F F F F I I I I X F I I 13

67 Coral Cay Species Name Family LF 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Total *Calophyllum inophyllum Clusiaceae ST VR 1 *Calyptocarpus vialis Asteraceae aH I 1 Canavalia rosea Fabaceae V R I A I I R I A 8 *Capsella bursapastoris Brassicaceae aH I I 2 *Capsicum frutescens Solanaceae H I 1 *Carica papaya Caricaceae ST R 1 Cassytha filiformis Lauraceae V I I I I I I 6 Casuarina equisetifolia subsp. incana Casuarinaceae T F F F F I F R F I F I A I F A 14 *Catharanthus roseus Apocynaceae H I 1 Celtis paniculata Ulmaceae T I I R I I F 6 *Cenchrus echinatus Poaceae aH F I I I I I R R I 9 Chamaesyce atoto Euphorbiaceae aH R I I/R I I X 6 *Chamaesyce hirta Euphorbiaceae aH R R I 3 *Chamaesyce hyssopifolia Euphorbiaceae aH R 1 *Chamaesyce prostrata Euphorbiaceae aH I R R F 4 *Chenopodium murale Chenopodiaceae aH R 1 *Chloris gayana Poaceae H I 1 #Chloris ventricosa Poaceae aH R 1 *Citrullus lanatus var. lanatus Cucurbitaceae aH R 1 *Citrus sp. Rutaceae ST R 1 Clerodendrum inerme Lamiaceae S R 1 *Commelina benghalensis Commelinaceae H I/R 1 Commicarpus insularum Nyctaginaceae V A/F R A F F F I 7 *Conyza bonariensis Asteraceae aH I I R I 4 *Conyza sumatrensis Asteraceae aH I I R X F 5 Cordia subcordata Boraginaceae ST I I I I 4 *Cyclospermum leptophyllum Apiaceae aH R I/R 2

68 Coral Cay Species Name Family LF 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Total *Cynodon dactylon var. dactylon Poaceae H R I F 3 *Cynodon nlemfuensis var. Poaceae H R 1 nlemfuensis #Cyperus gracilis Cyperaceae aH I 1 #Dentella repens Rubiaceae aH I 1 #Digitaria bicornis Poaceae aH I 1 *Digitaria ciliaris Poaceae aH I R I R R F 6 *Eleusine indica Poaceae aH F I I F I R F 7 *Emilia sonchifolia Asteraceae aH I 1 *Eragrostis minor Poaceae aH I 1 *Eragrostis tenuifolia Poaceae aH F 1 *Euphorbia cyathophora Euphorbiaceae aH F I A 3 Euphorbia tannensis subsp. tannensis Euphorbiaceae aH I I I I I I I I I I 10 Ficus opposita Moraceae ST I I I I I F F X F I I I 12 Ficus rubiginosa Moraceae T I I I 3 *Gomphrena celosioides Amaranthaceae aH I 1 Hernandia nymphaeifolia Hernandiaceae T VR 1 #Hibiscus tiliaceus Malvaceae T R 1 #Hydrocotyle acutiloba Apiaceae aH I 1 *Hylocereus undatus Cactaceae H I 1 *Ipomoea cairica Convolvulaceae V X I 2 *Ipomoea indica Convolvulaceae V I I 2 Ipomoea macrantha Convolvulaceae V I R I I/R I F X R R 9 Ipomoea pes-caprae subsp. Convolvulaceae H R I I/R R I I 6 brasiliensis *Lantana camara Verbenaceae S A 1 *Lepidium didymum Brassicaceae aH I R I/R R I 5

69 Coral Cay Species Name Family LF 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Total Lepidium englerianum Brassicaceae aH I I I I I 5 *Lepidium virginicum Brassicaceae aH R R R R 4 Lepturus repens Poaceae H I I F F F F I F F X F I F F 14 *Malva parviflora Malvaceae H I 1 *Malvastrum coromandelianum Malvaceae S R R F 3 *Megathyrsus maximus Poaceae H R R I 3 *Mirabilis jalapa Nyctaginaceae H I 1 *Nerium oleander Apocynaceae S R 1 *Opuntia stricta Cactaceae S I R 2 *Oxalis corniculata Oxalidaceae H I 1 Pandanus tectorius Pandanaceae ST I F I A F F I/F I I I F I/F 12 *Passiflora suberosa Passifloraceae V I/F F 2 Pipturus argenteus Urticaceae ST I I I I 4 Pisonia grandis Nyctaginaceae T R I/F A A A A F A F F F A I A I 15 *Plantago lanceolata Plantaginaceae aH I/F 1 *Plectranthus amboinicus Lamiaceae H I/F 1 Plumbago zeylanica Plumbaginaceae H I/F R A I F 5 *Poa annua Poaceae aH I I 2 Portulaca oleracea Portulacaceae H R I I/R I F I I X X R A R I 13 *Portulaca pilosa subsp. pilosa Portulacaceae aH R R I 3 #Pseudognaphalium luteoalbum Asteraceae aH I I/F I/F I I R I I 8 Salsola kali Chenopodiaceae aH R I 2 *Sansevieria trifasciata Dracaenaceae H I 1 Scaevola taccada Goodeniaceae ST F F F I F F F R X X R 11 #Schefflera actinophylla Araliaceae T I 1 *Senna pendula var. glabrata Caesalpiniaceae ST R 1 Sesuvium portulacastrum Aizoaceae H R I I I R 5

70 Coral Cay Species Name Family LF 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Total *Sisymbrium irio Brassicaceae aH I 1 *Sisymbrium orientale Brassicaceae aH I F R R R I 6 *Solanum americanum Solanaceae aH A I I I I F I I I A F F 12 *Solanum lycopersicum var. Solanaceae aH R R R 3 cerasiforme *Sonchus oleraceus Asteraceae aH I R R I I X I F I I 10 Sophora tomentosa subsp. australis Fabaceae ST R R I/F 3 *Sorghum bicolor Poaceae aH R 1 Spinifex sericeus Poaceae H I/R I I/F I 4 Sporobolus virginicus Poaceae H F I F F F F I F 8 *Stachytarpheta cayennensis Verbenaceae aH I 1 *Stellaria media Caryophyllaceae aH I 1 Stenotaphrum micranthum Poaceae H I I F F F X X I 8 *Stenotaphrum secundatum Poaceae H F 1 Stephania japonica Menispermaceae V R 1 Suriana maritima Surianaceae S I F I I X 5 #Terminalia arenicola Combretaceae T I 1 Tetragonia tetragonioides Aizoaceae aH F I F I 4 Thuarea involuta Poaceae H F I/F A A F F F I X X F A F 13 Trachymene cussonii Apiaceae aH R I F R 3 *Tradescantia pallida Commelinaceae H I 1 *Tradescantia spathacea Commelinaceae H R 1 *Trianthema portulacastrum Aizoaceae H R I 2 Tribulus cistoides Zygophyllaceae H I I I I I I I R F 9 *Tridax procumbens Asteraceae aH I 1 Triumfetta procumbens Sparrmanniaceae H R R 2 *Urochloa subquadripara Poaceae H R F 2

71 Coral Cay Species Name Family LF 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Total Wollastonia biflora Asteraceae H F F F F F I I A X I 10 Ximenia americana Olacaceae ST I/R 1 *Zephyranthes candida Amaryllidaceae H R 1 Total species: 131 spp. 32 families - 16 38 47 27 23 55 22 42 28 24 20 26 18 39 97 - Natives: 44 spp. 31 families - 12 26 33 18 19 24 21 36 20 20 15 19 12 20 21 - Exotics (*): 77 spp. 33 families - 4 11 13 9 3 31 1 5 8 4 5 6 6 18 66 - Mainland natives (#): 10 spp. 10 families - 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 10 -

Status: * = exotic to Australia and coral cays; # = native mainland species, non-indigenous to coral cays.

Life form (LF): T = tree (>5m tall); ST = small tree / tall shrub (2-5m); S = shrub (<2m); H = perennial herb; aH = annual herb; V = vine.

Coral cays: 1 = North Reef; 2 = Tryon; 3 = North West; 4 = Wilson; 5 = Wreck; 6 = Heron; 7 = Erskine; 8 = Masthead; 9 = One Tree; 10 = Hoskyn West; 11 = Hoskyn East; 12 = Fairfax West; 13 = Fairfax East; 14 = Lady Musgrave; 15 = Lady Elliot.

Frequency: A = abundant (>30% of sites); F = frequent (15-30% of sites); I = infrequent (1-15% of sites); R = rare (<1% of sites); VR = very rare (single occurrences).

72 Appendix B. Area of vegetation communities present on the Capricornia Cays: 2007–08

Coral cays 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 A – sandy shores 1.69 4.91 11.90 1.66 3.45 3.64 3.08 6.45 .45 2.85 .46 2.30 2.38 3.67 4.22 B – lithified shores .30 .59 1.40 .98 1.52 .14 2.24 x .21 x x x .60 1.34 C – built up or disturbed areas .04 .10 .21 7.02 .06 .32 .13 3.58

D – shingle shores with sparse-herbland of .96 .31 1.7 3.05 .40 Canavalia rosea

E – steep erode coral shores .50 FORESHORE BEACH VEGETATION 1a – *Cakile ephemeral herbland x .59 x .06 1b – Spinifex open-grassland x x .16 1.04 1c – Sporobolus closed-grassland x .41 1d – Seashore mixed herbland .38 .84 1.09 .36 x x .06 .02 x x x .60 x .04 .25 1e – Very sparse herbland, mainly sand .45 FRONTAL BEACH RIDGE VEGETATION 2a – Argusia-Scaevola open-scrub (littoral scrub) .41 1.87 .40 .06 2.02 .76 .63 1.51 .54 .05 .20 .92 2b – Argusia open-scrub to closed-scrub +/- .09 .08 3.11 .07 x .71 x x .08 .34 x .48 .08 .32 x Casuarina INTERIOR RIDGES, SWALES, PLAINS VEGETATION 3a – *Naturalized grassland/ herblands to open- 2.87 1.7 2.83 heath 3b – Ephemeral wetlands .02 .15 .02 .03 3c – Sesuvium portulacastrum herbland .23 .16 3d – Lantana camara shrubland 5.99 3e – Mown airstrip of Cynodon dactylon, Eragrostis 5.10

73 Coral cays 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 4 – Mixed herbland to mixed shrubland x x 1.08 .43 .28 .42 .11 .06 3.39 .87 x 5a – Wollastonia biflora +/- Abutilon albescens .10 1.10 .36 .06 5b – Plumbago/ Canavalia/ Lepturus herbland .85 .09 9.11 5c – Abutilon albescens shrubland 1.07 .88 .18 .18 .37 .63 1.03 7 – Scaevola taccada open- to closed-scrub .28 x .05 x .21 x x x 8a – Casuarina woodland to low open-forest .07 .72 1.20 .29 1.38 .54 .03 1.02 .04 .89 .18 .99 2.44 8b –C. equisetifolia woodland with mid-dense shrub .09 2.17 .10 2.81 layer 8b –C. equisetifolia woodland with Pandanus 1.1 9 – Pandanus tectorius closed-scrub to low closed- .03 1.10 1.15 .34 x .27 .05 .44 .07 .54 forest 10 – Celtis low open-forest to closed-forest .53 1.58 .55 11a – Pisonia closed-scrub to low closed-forest .01 .33 8.46 .94 .45 1.73 2.19 .91 3.51 1.15 .70 1.98 .52 .15 11b – Pisonia old-growth open-forest to closed-forest 1.07 87.71 1.24 5.78 25.79 1.04 .56 10.61 x 12a – Ficus rubiginosa. closed-forest .16 x x 12b – Ficus opposita. low shrubland .10 13 – Casuarina equisetifolia and Pisonia woodland 15.16 14 – Ximenia americana closed-scrub x 15 – Cordia subcordata low closed-forest x x x x

Coral cays: 1 = North Reef; 2 = Tryon; 3 = North West; 4 = Wilson; 5 = Wreck; 6 = Heron; 7 = Erskine; 8 = Masthead; 9 = One Tree; 10 = West Hoskyn; 11 = East Hoskyn; 12 = Fairfax (West); 13 = Fairfax (East);14 = Lady Musgrave; 15 = Lady Elliot. X = area too small to be mapped.

74 Appendix C. Native plant species suitable for revegetation / regeneration and landscaping at the Capricornia Cays

Plant names 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Comments Ground layer (11 spp.) Boerhavia albiflora L M H L U M M Endemic to Capricornia cays; prostrate, tap- var. heronensis rooted, fleshy perennial herb (0.1–0.3 m). Location: seashore & interior. Propagation: fresh seeds. Landscaping: open spaces, low traffic groundcover & novelty gardens. Canavalia rosea M M M L U L L Widespread coastal perennial sprawling stems herb (0.2–1.0 m). Location: seashore/interior. Propagation: seeds & rooted stem cuttings. Landscaping: open space low traffic groundcover. Lepturus repens H H M L U M M Widespread coastal creeping grass (0.3– 0.6 m). Location: seashore/interior. Propagation: seeds & rooted stem cuttings. Landscaping: moderate traffic groundcover. Sesuvium M L L U U M U Widespread coastal halophyte; succulent portulacastrum perennial creeping herb (0.1–0.2 m). Location: seashore/interior. Propagation: fresh seed & rooted stem cuttings. Landscaping: open space low traffic groundcover & garden beds. Spinifex sericeus H M U U U L U Widespread perennial beach grass (0.2– 0.4 m) with long trailing stems. Location: seashore only. Propagation: seeds & runners/stem cuttings. Landscaping: seashore sand stabilizer. Sporobolus M M L L U M H Widespread halophyte; perennial creeping virginicus grass (0.15–0.35 m). Location: seashore/interior. Propagation: seeds & rooted stem cuttings. Landscaping: exposed salt laden open space lawns, moderate traffic, camping grounds. Stenotaphrum H M L L U M M Endemic to coral cays; salt tolerant creeping micranthum grass (0.1–0.2 m). Location: seashore. Propagation: seed & rooted stem cuttings. Landscaping: low traffic groundcover. Thuarea involuta H H M L L M H Widespread coastal perennial creeping grass (0.1–0.2 m). Location: seashore/interior. Propagation: seeds & rooted stem cuttings. Landscaping: seashore ground cover & semi shade law traffic lawns. Trachymene M M U U U M L Endemic at Capricornia cays with Southern cussonii Limit at Lady Elliot Island; salt tolerant annual herb (0.15–0.3 m). Location: seashore. Propagation: fresh seeds. Landscaping: coral rubble open ground cover & novelty gardens. Triumfetta M M L U U L L Tropical islands endemic; trailing perennial procumbens herb (0.15–0.25 m). Location: seashore.

75 Plant names 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Comments Propagation: seed rooted stem cuttings. Landscaping: sand stabilizer & novelty gardens. Wollastonia biflora M H M L U H U Widespread robust sprawling perennial herb (0.5–1.5 m). Location: seashore/interior. Propagation: seed & rooted stem cuttings. Landscaping: sand stabilizer, camping grounds and novelty garden beds. Shrub layer (4 spp.) Abutilon albescens U L H M U M U Widespread coastal shrub (0.5–2.0 m). Location: interior. Propagation: seed & stem cuttings. Landscaping: open space shrub cover & garden beds. Clerodendrum L M L L U M U Coastal shrub (1.5–2.5 m). Location: inerme seashore. Propagation: seed & stem cuttings? Landscaping: beach front. Scaevola taccada M H M L U H U Widespread salt tolerant, fleshy large-leaved shrub (1.5–3 m). Location: seashore/interior. Propagation: fresh seed & stem cuttings. Landscaping: screening gardens, camping grounds. Suriana maritima M H M M U M U Salt tolerant, fine dense foliage shrub (1.5– 2 m). Location: seashore & interiors. Propagation: fresh seed. Landscaping: windbreak, screening, camping grounds & novelty gardens. Tree layer (13 spp.) Argusia argentea H H L L U H U Widespread seashore halophyte, silvery dense foliage, small tree (2–6 m). Location: foreshore. Propagation: fresh seed. Landscaping: open space, windbreak, screening gardens & campgrounds. Calophyllum L M L L M M U Foreshore tropical large leaved tree (5–20 inophyllum m). Location: seashore/interior. Propagation: shell removed seed. Landscaping: novelty gardens & esplanades. Casuarina M H L M L H U Widespread coastal salt & wind tolerant, tree equisetifolia subsp. (6–12 m). Location: seashore/interior. incana Propagation: seed. Landscaping: wind-break, camping grounds, feature gardens. Celtis paniculata U M M H H H U Rainforest tree (5–15 m). Location: interior. Propagation: fresh seed. Landscaping: esplanades, camping grounds shade cover & novelty gardens, attractive to wildlife. Cordia subcordata U H L L L H U Seashore tree (4–8m). Location: seashore. Propagation: seed. Landscaping: shade, gardens & camping grounds Ficus opposita U L H H M M U Widespread dry scrubs & forest small tree (3–7 m). Location: interior. Propagation: fresh seed. Landscaping: open space,

76 Plant names 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Comments camping grounds & rainforest gardens; attractive to wildlife. Ficus rubiginosa U L L H H M U Large rainforest tree (8–16 m). Location: interior. Propagation: fresh seed. Landscaping: forests shade cover, gardens, camping grounds, attractive to wildlife. #Hibiscus tiliaceus L M U L U M U Widespread coastal halophyte; Introduced to Lady Elliot Island from mainland, salt tolerant native tree (6–8 m). Location: seashore. Propagation: seed. Landscaping: seashore feature gardens. Pandanus tectorius M H M M L H U Widespread coastal salt and wind tolerant tree (5–10 m). Location: littoral forests. Propagation: fresh seed. Landscaping: open areas, camping grounds & seashore feature gardens. Pipturus argenteus U L M H M H U Fast growing rainforest small tree (2–6 m). Location: interior, Propagation: fresh seed. Landscaping: screening gardens, camping grounds, attractive to wildlife. Pisonia grandis U L L H H L U Tropical large tree (12–20m). Location: interior. Propagation: fresh seed & stem cuttings. Landscaping: rehabilitation, novelty gardens, attractive to wildlife. Sophora tomentosa L H M L L M U Seashore small tree (2–4m). Location: beach subsp. australis front forest. Propagation: seed. Landscaping: screening gardens, camping grounds. Ximenia americana U L M M M M U Uncommon offshore, widespread on mainland dry scrubs small tree with eatable fruit (2–4m). Location: interior. Propagation: seed. Landscaping: screening & novelty gardens. Vines / twiners (2 spp.) Commicarpus U M H M L M L Uncommon on mainland but widespread at insularum Capricornia cays, vine/twiner (0.3–3m). Location: interior. Propagation: fresh seed. Landscaping: screening in gardens & camping grounds. Ipomoea macrantha U M M H H M L Tropical vine/trailer (0.3–10m). Location: forests & herblands. Propagation: seed. Landscaping: screening in gardens & camping grounds.

Functional groups:

1 = beachfront herblands with & without woody plants; 2 = beachfront woodlands to scrublands (Argusia/Casuarina/Pandanus); 3 = interior herblands to heathlands with & without emergent woody plants; 4 = interior littoral woodlands to open-forests; 5 = littoral rainforests; 6 = resort landscaping/garden beds/camping grounds & 7= resort airstrip & paths groundcover.

Suitability: U = unsuitable; L = low suitability; M = moderate suitability, H = high suitability

77 Appendix D. Metadata for the mapping of the vegetation communities of the Capricornia Cays, Southeast Queensland

• Digital data (shapefile format) are available from QGIS, http://dds.information.qld.gov.au/dds/ • Technical descriptions and maps (A3 colour) of the vegetation communities of each island overlying aerial photography at a scale of 1:1000-1:5000, are available online (http://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/ecosystems/biodiversity/regional- ecosystems/technical_descriptions.html).

Title: The Vegetation Communities of the Capricornia Cays, Southeast Queensland

Date: 25-05-2012 (revision)

Abstract: Aerial Photo Interpretation completed by V.J. Neldner on overlays to selected 2007 and 2001 photos. Ortho-rectification and GIS by J.A. Kelley. The resulting polygons were refined at an edit scale of about 1:500, to produce a map scale between 1:1000 and 1:2000 depending on the size of the island. The pre-clearing mapping was informed by the 238 sites collected by G.N. Batianoff, G.C. Naylor and D.A. Halford, which are stored in the CORVEG database. Thirteen of the fifteen Capricornia Cays (defined as all islands in the Capricornia Cays NP, Capricornia Cays NP (Scientific), Lady Elliot Island and North Reef Island) were surveyed from August 2007 - September 2008 over five separate trips. Mapping was assisted by scrutiny of the notebooks, vegetation transects and terrestrial photographs of G.N. Batianoff and G.C. Naylor, D.A. Halford's oral description of his terrestrial photographs, and limited information from insect survey sites of the Queensland Museum.

Owner: Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts.

Data / Resource Constraints

Copyright: (C) Copyright The State of Queensland (Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts.) 2012

Licence: This material is licensed under a Creative Commons - Attribution 3.0 Australia licence. The Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts requests attribution in the following manner: © State of Queensland (Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts.) 2012.

Lineage: The pre-clearing mapping was informed by the 238 sites collected by G.N. Batianoff, G.C. Naylor and D.A. Halford, which are stored in the CORVEG database. Thirteen of the fifteen Capricornia Cays (defined as all islands in the Capricornia Cays NP, Capricornia Cays NP (Scientific), Lady Elliot Island and North Reef Island) were surveyed from August 2007 - September 2008 over five separate trips. Mapping was assisted by scrutiny of the notebooks, vegetation transects and terrestrial photographs of G.N. Batianoff and G.C. Naylor, D.A. Halford's oral description of his terrestrial photographs, and limited information from insect survey sites of the Queensland Museum.

Data Quality

Completeness: Complete for extent of 2007 remnant vegetation communities and pre-clearing of the Capricornia Cays.

Consistency: A test of consistency for vegetation and regional ecosystem unit values (VEG, RE and PERCENT) between the pre-clearing and remnant layers.

78 Positional accuracy: Aerial photography was captured on 22 November 2007 by QASCO (project QAS 3624c) at 1:4000, and 1:6000 for the larger islands (Heron, Lady Musgrave, North West, Lady Elliot). The full southwest spit of Fairfax West was not captured. For each photo QASCO provided the exposure station (Easting, Northing, Height) but did not provide the rotation angles (Omega, Phi, Kappa). For approximate ortho-rectification, the small tilt angles Omega and Phi were assumed to be zero, and Kappa was calculated from overlapping photos. These approximate results were then refined, wherever possible, by fitting to miscellaneous GPS points collected by G.C.Naylor, D.A.Halford, and V.J.Neldner. GPS point coverage was lacking for Hoskyn, and inadequate for Wilson and North Reef. Some refinements were also made by ortho-rectifying 2001 aerial photography captured by Airesearch Mapping: projects AM875 (30/31 May 2001) and AM881 (29 July 2001) - Hoskyn (1:4000 and 1:5000), Masthead (1:8600), Lady Musgrave (1:6000), North West (1:6000 and 1:10,000).

Attribute accuracy: The pre-clearing mapping was informed by the 238 sites collected by G.N. Batianoff, G.C. Naylor and D.A. Halford, which are stored in the CORVEG database.

79